Tuesday 25th June 2013; 7pm to 8.30pm,
CCA Clubroom, Glasgow:
‘In Process’ Masterclass, with Alan Spence
The SWC is honoured to welcome one of Scotland’s greatest living writers. Award-winning poet and playwright, novelist and short story writer, Alan Spence’s new novel, Night Boat, will be published by Canongate in August. Alan looks back over his career, the books he’s written, current projects, and talks about the writing craft with a mind to helping aspiring writers.
Alan is Professor in Creative Writing at the University of Aberdeen, where he is also artistic director of the annual WORD Festival. He was born in Glasgow, and much of his work is set in the city. He was recently commissioned by Scottish Opera for words to a libretto: Zen Story (with music by Miriama Young). His first work was the collection of short stories, Its Colours They Are Fine, published in 1977. This was followed by two plays: Sailmaker in 1982 and Space Invaders in 1983. His novel, The Magic Flute, appeared in 1990. In 1991, Alan’s play, Changed Days, was published before a brief hiatus. He returned in 1996 with Stone Garden, another collection of short stories. In 1996, The Pure Land, a historical novel set in Japan, was published by Canongate Books and is based on the life of Thomas Blake Glover (as immortalised in the story of Madame Butterfly). Since then, he has published the novels Way to Go (1998) and The Pure Land (2006).
Alan’s first poetry collection, Plop!, was published in 1970; he has since written several more collections, such as Glasgow Zen in 1981 and, most recently, Morning Glory (with illustrations by Elizabeth Blackadder) in 2010. He is considered to be the leading Scottish haiku writer, with collections including Seasons of the Heart and Clear Light.
Alan has won a Scottish Arts Council Book award three times, was the SAC Scottish Writer of the Year in 1995, and in 2006 won the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland (Writing) Award in 2006. He now lives in Edinburgh, with his wife, where they run the Sri Chinmoy Meditation Centre.
Tickets: £6 (£3 for concessions). Free to SWC members.
