Once again America shows its inability to recognise Scotland...

[Dashingmajor]

BBC NEWS | Scotland | US u-turn over Scottish authors

[Pubic Wig]

Waaaay!

...not that im actualy that keen on much Scottish literature. ho ho ho

Other than Nigel Tranter. He's ace.

[Ryan.]

Originally Posted by Pubic Wig

Waaaay!

...not that im actualy that keen on much Scottish literature. ho ho ho

Other than Nigel Tranter. He's ace.

Yeah, I must say that despite the fact it is pretty shit to lump things together as they are doing I would be far more concerned if we had a whole lot of amazing writers. Irish writers, now that would be a tragedy!

[Dashingmajor]

Is that supposed to be sarcastic? I hope so, because if it's not, you're clearly out of your tree.

All these writers are Scottish;

Alan Warner
Iain Banks
Jackie Kay
Alisdair Gray
Irvine Welsh
Kevin MacNeil
A L Kennedy
Christopher Brookmyre
Ian Rankin
Edwin Morgan
Liz Lochhead
William McIlvanney
Alan Bisset

I'm not even going to start a list of writers who are no longer alive, but Robert Burns anyone?

[Pubic Wig]

I loaaaath Liz Lochead. We had to do a little bit on her in 2nd year University on a course called 'The Gothic Text' and she bored the Hell out of me.

But yeah, theres Burns, Scot and a fair few others.*nods head in agreement*

[Ryan.]

Originally Posted by Dashingmajor

Is that supposed to be sarcastic? I hope so, because if it's not, you're clearly out of your tree.

All these writers are Scottish;

Alan Warner
Iain Banks
Jackie Kay
Alisdair Gray
Irvine Welsh
Kevin MacNeil
A L Kennedy
Christopher Brookmyre
Ian Rankin
Edwin Morgan
Liz Lochhead
William McIlvanney
Alan Bisset

I'm not even going to start a list of writers who are no longer alive, but Robert Burns anyone?

Its not sarcasm, none of those are particularly good writers imo. The following are terrible writers: Robert Burns, Ian Rankin, Liz Lochhead, Iain Banks and Irvine Welsh.

[Dashingmajor]

I agree that not all in that list are fantastic writers, but it was just the ones I could think of off the top of my head that are currently writing.

But you can surely concede that for a very small country, Scotland has produced, and at the moment has, some very good writers, and that the vast majority of them have a very distinctive voice that marks them out as being Scottish.
Scotland punches well above it's weight when it comes to literature, and I believe that this is why there was such a furore when the US library categorised them as English.

I suppose it's like music in many ways. It's not good to get too parochial about these things, but when there is clearly a wealth of talent there, dismissing it, in my mind, is worse.

[MrAnderson]

Originally Posted by bumperbrew

Its not sarcasm, none of those are particularly good writers imo. The following are terrible writers: Robert Burns, Ian Rankin, Liz Lochhead, Iain Banks and Irvine Welsh.

If they were terrible writers then they would not have been published or, in many cases, critically acclaimed. Personally, I love Banks for his versatility and compelling stories (Complicity, Espedair Street, Wasp Factory) but you can leave the rest alone for me because they are not to my tastes.

If you want to see truly terrible writers then just look at the Bebo Authors website. My choice quote from there is along the lines of "and her skin flew off like a wave of skin".

[kj]

Originally Posted by MrAnderson

If they were terrible writers then they would not have been published or, in many cases, critically acclaimed. Personally, I love Banks for his versatility and compelling stories (Complicity, Espedair Street, Wasp Factory) but you can leave the rest alone for me because they are not to my tastes.

If you want to see truly terrible writers then just look at the Bebo Authors website. My choice quote from there is along the lines of "and her skin flew off like a wave of skin".

Wasp Factory and Complicity are fantastic books. And I completely agree with you. They have obviously made their marks as writers and for good reason.

[Thee Alex]

Originally Posted by bumperbrew

Its not sarcasm, none of those are particularly good writers imo. The following are terrible writers: Robert Burns, Ian Rankin, Liz Lochhead, Iain Banks and Irvine Welsh.

Banks is very good indeed.

[RiseAgainst]

i enjoy Banks and Welsh a lot.

[Ryan.]

Originally Posted by Thee Alex

Banks is very good indeed.

when you are 14.

[Ryan.]

Originally Posted by kj

Wasp Factory and Complicity are fantastic books. And I completely agree with you. They have obviously made their marks as writers and for good reason.

I don't agree with this at all. Being a bestseller does not make you a good writer. Take a look at reader demographics, the majority of readers are middle aged housewives. Juicy plots, poorly sketched characters and something not too difficult to follow is what will get you a large readership.