'Some things to not forget, a collection of short stories in the Scottish tradition'

Abstract

Strathclyde theses - ask staff. Thesis no. : T13152This thesis contains a collection of short stories followed by a critical essay examining the tradition of the Scottish short story. The collection itself is structured around the theme of memory; some stories have 'partner' stories which see the narrator of the first reappear in the second, representing a strand in time and inviting the reader to remember previous narrative voices, secondary characters, and settings. The stories which do not have distinctive links to others still deal with memory and the fear of the loss of memory. In total there are fifteen pieces of creative prose. The approach to contextualising the collection alongside other literary short story collections involved the reading and critical analysis of other writers, particularly James Kelman and George Mackay Brown. The thesis responds to the short story form more widely by analysing writers like James Joyce and critics such as Dominic Head. The essay outlines that establishing the recognisable characteristics of a short story is the first point in relating creative work to a genre; the second is applying those findings to the Scottish authors mentioned above in order to gain a viable parallel between them. Overall the thesis seeks to contribute to the tradition of short story writing in Scotland through the practice of creative writing intent on achieving a new narrative 'voice' which relates to those of previous literary generations.This thesis contains a collection of short stories followed by a critical essay examining the tradition of the Scottish short story. The collection itself is structured around the theme of memory; some stories have 'partner' stories which see the narrator of the first reappear in the second, representing a strand in time and inviting the reader to remember previous narrative voices, secondary characters, and settings. The stories which do not have distinctive links to others still deal with memory and the fear of the loss of memory. In total there are fifteen pieces of creative prose. The approach to contextualising the collection alongside other literary short story collections involved the reading and critical analysis of other writers, particularly James Kelman and George Mackay Brown. The thesis responds to the short story form more widely by analysing writers like James Joyce and critics such as Dominic Head. The essay outlines that establishing the recognisable characteristics of a short story is the first point in relating creative work to a genre; the second is applying those findings to the Scottish authors mentioned above in order to gain a viable parallel between them. Overall the thesis seeks to contribute to the tradition of short story writing in Scotland through the practice of creative writing intent on achieving a new narrative 'voice' which relates to those of previous literary generations