Edition: Paperback

ISBN 9781906817183

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About the Book: 

Arts of Resistance is an original exploration that extends beyond the arts into the context of politics and political change. In three wide-ranging exchanges prompted by American blues singer Linda MacDonald-Lewis, artist Alexander Moffat and poet Alan Riach discuss cultural, political and artistic movements, the role of the artist in society and the effect of environment on artists from all disciplines.

Arts of Resistance examines the lives and work of leading figures from Scotland's arts world in the twentieth century, concentrating on poets and artists but also including writers, musicians and architectural visionaries such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Patrick Geddes. Poets studied include Hugh MacDiarmid, Sorley MacLean, Iain Crichton Smith, Edwin Morgan and Liz Lochhead; artists include William McTaggart, William Johnstone and the Scottish Colourists.

The investigation into the connection between the arts and political culture includes historical issues, from British imperialism to a devolved Scotland. Finally, the contribution to poetry and art of each major Scottish city is discussed: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee.

Highly illustrated with paintings and poems, Arts of Resistance is a beautifully produced book providing facts and controversial opinions.

Reviews: 

A landmark book. TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

It's a sumptuous book, worth every button.SCOTTISH REVIEW OF BOOKS

Breathtaking collection. THE SCOTSMAN

This is punchy stuff in a memorable and stimulating book. THE SCOTS MAGAZINE

About the Authors:

ALEXANDER (SANDY) MOFFAT RSA is an artist and teacher. Born in Dunfermline in 1943 he studied painting at Edinburgh College of Art. From 1968 to 1978 he was the Director of the New 57 Gallery in Edinburgh. In 1979 he joined the staff of The Glasgow School of Art where he was Head of Painting from 1992 until his retirement in 2005. His portraits of the major poets of the Scottish Renaissance movement now hang in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and his paintings are represented in many public and private collections including the Yale Center for British Art, USA and the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.

ALAN RACH was born in Airdrie in 1957. He studied English literature at Cambridge University from 1976-79. He completed his PhD in the Department of Scottish Literature at Glasgow University in 1986. His academic career has included positions as a post-doctoral research fellow, senior lecturer, Associate Professor and Pro-Dean in the Faculty of Arts, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand 1986-2000. He returned to Scotland in January 2001 and is currently the Professor of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow.

LINDA MACDONALD-LEWIS has been involved in promoting Scottish History in America for 20 years, and has sold Scottish books from her thriving shop on the American West Coast for over a decade. She works as a Master Performer at Highland Games all over the country, telling stories, reciting poems and singing. She also presents seminars on Scotland's history, mythology and folklore.