The Edinburgh Companion to Alasdair Gray and the Arts

This collection of essays pays full tribute to Alasdair Gray as one of Scotland’s most important creative forces. Bringing together sharp critical analyses of his writing, thoughtful interpretations of his visual works, new readings of his politics, and the voices of those who worked with him, it maps the interactions of text, images and ideas that characterised a career of inimitable productivity. By structuring the volume around his engagement with politics and community, his collaborations, and adaptions of his work, the editors highlight the importance of Gray’s literary and political interventions, his intellectual generosity, and the nature of his influence on the arts in Scotland and beyond. These ‘likely and unlikely’ stories are underpinned by substantial archival research and brilliantly supported by illustrations illuminating both his life and his importance as a visual artist. The collection offers new perspectives on Gray’s biography, his working practices, and his impact not only on other writers and artists but on a country shaping a sense of itself. In the process the book remains faithful to the unique combination of lively mischief and intellectual commitment that made Alasdair Gray an imaginative iconoclast of international importance. -- Glenda Norquay, Liverpool John Moores University