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| The writers Alex Salmond is courting now will hold him to account | The writers Alex Salmond is courting now will hold him to account |
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| I must admit that I was surprised to learn that Alex Salmond is to enlist Scotland's finest writers to help pen the SNP's much-anticipated white paper on Scottish independence. The "yes" campaign has successfully galvanised the artistic community as part of the cultural drive in advance of next year's referendum. However, I'd still expected the door to be closed to the creatives when it came to the serious business of watershed governmental papers on the civic and economic details. Apparently not. This is a sign that Salmond's engagement with the arts goes beyond superficial courting, and that he genuinely wishes to place imagination at the heart of the new Scotland. | I must admit that I was surprised to learn that Alex Salmond is to enlist Scotland's finest writers to help pen the SNP's much-anticipated white paper on Scottish independence. The "yes" campaign has successfully galvanised the artistic community as part of the cultural drive in advance of next year's referendum. However, I'd still expected the door to be closed to the creatives when it came to the serious business of watershed governmental papers on the civic and economic details. Apparently not. This is a sign that Salmond's engagement with the arts goes beyond superficial courting, and that he genuinely wishes to place imagination at the heart of the new Scotland. |
| Salmond has long flaunted his literary credentials, quoting from Robert Burns and Alasdair Gray in his speeches, interviewing Ian McEwan onstage at the Edinburgh international book festival, flagging up James Robertson's magisterial novel And The Land Lay Still as his summer reading. Indeed, the movement towards independence was given huge momentum by the late poet Edwin Morgan, who left £1m to the SNP in his will in 2011. Salmond has also made the slightly dubious claim that Walter Scott himself would've been a yes voter, but we'll leave that one to the academics. | Salmond has long flaunted his literary credentials, quoting from Robert Burns and Alasdair Gray in his speeches, interviewing Ian McEwan onstage at the Edinburgh international book festival, flagging up James Robertson's magisterial novel And The Land Lay Still as his summer reading. Indeed, the movement towards independence was given huge momentum by the late poet Edwin Morgan, who left £1m to the SNP in his will in 2011. Salmond has also made the slightly dubious claim that Walter Scott himself would've been a yes voter, but we'll leave that one to the academics. |
| It seems Salmond is smart enough to know that what he's described as "one of the most important documents in Scottish history, arguably the most significant since the [14th-century] Declaration of Arbroath", will need to be leavened with lyricism if it is not to read like a dry piece of copy. This will not only widen its appeal beyond SNP apparatchiks or politics nerds, but will ensure it resonates through the ages, whether Scotland votes for independence or not. Like a football fan anticipating high-profile summer signings I am now in a guessing game as to which names Salmond will involve. | It seems Salmond is smart enough to know that what he's described as "one of the most important documents in Scottish history, arguably the most significant since the [14th-century] Declaration of Arbroath", will need to be leavened with lyricism if it is not to read like a dry piece of copy. This will not only widen its appeal beyond SNP apparatchiks or politics nerds, but will ensure it resonates through the ages, whether Scotland votes for independence or not. Like a football fan anticipating high-profile summer signings I am now in a guessing game as to which names Salmond will involve. |
| William McIlvanney, who has already been mentioned by Salmond, would be a hugely popular choice. Acknowledged as the godfather of contemporary Scottish literature, he has gravitas, enormous gifts of expression, and the common touch. Neither would I be surprised at the inclusion of the aforementioned James Robertson, national Makar Liz Lochhead, national treasure Janice Galloway, or our greatest playwright, David Greig, all of whom favour a yes vote. As an outside bet, and for the sake of inclusiveness, Salmond may even invite the novelist Allan Massie to contribute. Massie is a unionist, but has perspective, magnanimity and is widely respected in Scottish literary circles. | William McIlvanney, who has already been mentioned by Salmond, would be a hugely popular choice. Acknowledged as the godfather of contemporary Scottish literature, he has gravitas, enormous gifts of expression, and the common touch. Neither would I be surprised at the inclusion of the aforementioned James Robertson, national Makar Liz Lochhead, national treasure Janice Galloway, or our greatest playwright, David Greig, all of whom favour a yes vote. As an outside bet, and for the sake of inclusiveness, Salmond may even invite the novelist Allan Massie to contribute. Massie is a unionist, but has perspective, magnanimity and is widely respected in Scottish literary circles. |
| Salmond's decision adds to the sense of an imminent and massive engagement within the Scottish arts on the independence referendum. The National Collective, an ever-expanding coalition of yes-supporting creatives, is planning manifold projects to reach voters next year. The National Theatre of Scotland has announced a major touring piece exploring the issue. Expect the Edinburgh fringe festival in August 2014, a mere month before the referendum, to be dominated by independence-themed shows and discussions. | Salmond's decision adds to the sense of an imminent and massive engagement within the Scottish arts on the independence referendum. The National Collective, an ever-expanding coalition of yes-supporting creatives, is planning manifold projects to reach voters next year. The National Theatre of Scotland has announced a major touring piece exploring the issue. Expect the Edinburgh fringe festival in August 2014, a mere month before the referendum, to be dominated by independence-themed shows and discussions. |
| What's really significant, however, is that unionist artists are very much thin on the ground. Scotsman journalist Joyce McMillan, who herself has made the journey from unionism to independence-supporting, has observed this phenomenon, blaming the relentless negativity of a no campaign which even refers to itself as "project fear". We usually presume nationalist movements to be bigoted, close-minded, reactionary affairs, from which free-spirited artists run a mile, but the centrality of the arts to Scottish independence reveals it to be something quite different and inclusive. The feeling that Scotland is embarking upon a revolutionary path, rejecting a hideously conservative and backward-looking British state, has excited the artists to imagine fresh, new possibilities. | What's really significant, however, is that unionist artists are very much thin on the ground. Scotsman journalist Joyce McMillan, who herself has made the journey from unionism to independence-supporting, has observed this phenomenon, blaming the relentless negativity of a no campaign which even refers to itself as "project fear". We usually presume nationalist movements to be bigoted, close-minded, reactionary affairs, from which free-spirited artists run a mile, but the centrality of the arts to Scottish independence reveals it to be something quite different and inclusive. The feeling that Scotland is embarking upon a revolutionary path, rejecting a hideously conservative and backward-looking British state, has excited the artists to imagine fresh, new possibilities. |
| Salmond should be careful of what he wishes for, however. The poets whom he courts will be the same ones asking serious questions of the SNP after independence. Writers of the calibre involved are not guns for hire, and they will know when they are being fooled. The artists' rebellion against the CEO of Creative Scotland is testament to that. But for now? It's on. The artists are working – to use Alasdair Gray's famous phrase – as though they live in the early days of a better nation. | Salmond should be careful of what he wishes for, however. The poets whom he courts will be the same ones asking serious questions of the SNP after independence. Writers of the calibre involved are not guns for hire, and they will know when they are being fooled. The artists' rebellion against the CEO of Creative Scotland is testament to that. But for now? It's on. The artists are working – to use Alasdair Gray's famous phrase – as though they live in the early days of a better nation. |
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