Hamlin, Sarah Elizabeth (2016) Poetic politics: writers and the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum. PhD thesis. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/8902/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] 1 Poetic Politics: Writers and the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum Sarah Elizabeth Paterson BA(Hons), DipLang, MA (Otago) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Arts) Department of Scottish Literature School of Critical Studies College of Arts University of Glasgow 2 Abstract This thesis considers the works of six major literary figures in the context of their engagement with the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum. These writers are, in order of analysis, Edwin Morgan, J.K. Rowling, Liz Lochhead, Alasdair Gray, Kathleen Jamie, and John Burnside. Each has produced a significant literary oeuvre which is examined here in relation to their involvement in the Referendum debate in relation to each other’s work. The multifaceted relationship between literature and politics is investigated through the lens of the Referendum, utilising these six figures as interrelated case studies. Chapter One explores Edwin Morgan and J.K. Rowling in relation to each other and to the concept of nationalism as manifested in the Referendum period. Chapter Two focuses on postcolonialism and the work of Alasdair Gray and Liz Lochhead in that same context. The third and final chapter is concerned with Kathleen Jamie and John Burnside’s preoccupation with ecopoetics, and how that concern overlapped with Referendum debates. This thesis provides new readings of these six writers in the context of the Referendum. It sets out to establish that, while their published literary works are often connected to the spectrum of stances these writers took regarding the Referendum, these works need to be considered with respect to the nuanced attention all six had previously given to key themes of the Referendum debate in the decades leading up to that political moment. 3 Table of Contents Abstract Table of Contents List of Figures Acknowledgements Author’s Declaration i. General Introduction 1 ii. Individuality 4 i. Poetry and politics in the Referendum 9 Chapter One 1.1 Concepts of nationalism in the Referendum period 18 1.2 The Million Pound Writers 25 1.3 Edwin Morgan’s poetic vision of Scotland 31 1.4 Sonnets from Scotland (1984) 40 1.5 The Makar and the public voice 45 1.6 Locating J.K. Rowling in Scottish literary studies 57 1.7 Harry Potter as a unionist text 67 Chapter Two 2.1 Postcolonialism and Scottish Literature: defining co-colonialism 90 2.2 Liz Lochhead and anti-hegemonic rhetoric 104 2.3 Mirrors and the double marginalisation 119 2.4 Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off (1987) 130 2.5 Continuing the Makar tradition 138 2.6 Alasdair Gray’s co-colonialism: Lanark: A Life in Four Books (1981) 152 2.7 Taking back the capital: The Fall of Kelvin Walker (1985) 160 4 2.8 Reversing the gaze: 1982, Janine (1984) 175 2.9 Lochhead, Gray, and the co-colonial voice in 2014 182 Chapter Three 3.1 The Bonniest Companie (2015): the poet as commentator 184 3.2 Jamie and the Dream State 195 3.3 Jamie’s ecopoetics and a cohesive vision of Scotland 206 3.4 Ecopoetics and Referendum rhetoric 214 3.5 Bannockburn: Jamie as the public poet 223 3.6 John Burnside and the role of the poet 232 3.7 Burnside as anti-narrative/anti-Referendum 234 3.8 The country of the working-class 245 3.9 Burnside’s ecopoetics 251 Conclusion 266 Bibliography 272 5 List of Figures Figure 1. Topic Representation in Scotland’s Future Figure 2. Topic Representation in Campaign Infographics Figure 3. Ipsos Mori voter analysis Figure 4. University of Manchester voter identity analysis Figure 5. Trends in ‘Forced Choice’ National Identity 1974-2014 Figure 6. WWII propaganda poster, UK Government Figure 7. WWII propaganda poster, UK Government Figure 8. Liz Lochhead reading ‘Dear Scotland’ Figure 9. Table of seasonal relationships in The Bonniest Companie Figure 10. Poster from ‘Scotland on the Cusp’ event Figure 11. Alex Salmond campaigning with Scottish residents of EU origin Figure 12. Patrick Harvie speaking at a Scottish Greens event Figure 13. Rotunda, Bannockburn Figure 14. Rotunda, Bannockburn Figure 15. Rotunda, Bannockburn 6 Acknowledgements This thesis and the amazing three years I was lucky enough to spend in Glasgow undertaking it would not have been possible without the incredibly generous support of my funders, the William Georgetti Trust. Thank you for having faith in me and for your constant support from beginning to end. Thank you to the Scottish Literature Department of the University of Glasgow, especially to my wonderful supervisors, Rhona Brown and Alan Riach. Thanks to everyone else in the department for making me feel welcome, and especially to Gerard Carruthers for helping to shape the beginning stages of this thesis. Kirsty Strang, Stewart Sanderson, Jonathan Henderson, Arun Sood, Lorna MacBean, Christopher MacMillan, Ian McGhee, and Calum Rodger, you extended your friendship, your collegiality, and your knowledge from the very beginning, for which I will always be so grateful. To my fantastic beasts of officemates: Michael Shaw, Elina Koristashevskaya, Alexandra Campbell, Louise Daly-Creechan, Kirsty Strang, Martin Cathcart Froden, Tara Beall, Mhairi, Katy, Ioulia, Nia, Amy Bromley, Jamie Nixon, Pip, and Stuart Purcell, this would not have been nearly as much fun without you. Thank you Michael for the wisdom of Socrates, Elina for your Elinaness, Tara for joining me in last minute panic, Alex and Louise for your beastliness, and Kirsty for all of it. Thank you Katie Ailes for being my partner in crime, and conceiving Aiblins with me in all its manifestations. Thanks for putting up with me in the final stages of thesis and the first stages of pregnancy, and for teaching me both the importance of the comma, and correct carrot maintenance. To Wassim, Mohammed, Sarwan, Virginie, Zimarko, and all the students of ELCD, thank you for your part in this journey, and may God be with you, always. Thank you to the congregations of Māori Hill Presbyterian Church and B@tch, and of Ruchill Presbyterian Church for your fellowship and prayers. Chantelle, Fraser, Meadhbh, Calum, Aonghas, Patrick, and Shona, thank you for making it hard to be impartial. Liam McIlvanney – this is all entirely your fault, and I’ll be scunnered for life. Thank you for your passion and belief, for your friendship and support, and for holding that fateful debate. Thank you Jessica Ross for skyping me nearly every single Tuesday of this thesis, and to both you and James for being there for me every step of the way. To Keith and Robyn, thank you for all of your support, encouragement, and example, all 26 years of it! Dad, thank you for preparing me to belong to Glasgow from the very start. There’s so much of you in this work. Thank you doesn’t quite cover it Mum! To Jan Paterson, thank you for everything, from the first months of my life which I now have a brand new appreciation for, right up until you proofread this entire thesis, and every single book, maths class, and skype in between. Bernie – there will never be enough words, even in amongst these 100,000. This is for you and Boris. 7 Author’s Declaration I declare that, except where explicit reference is made to the contribution of others, that this dissertation is the result of my own work and has not been submitted for any other degree at the University of Glasgow or any other institution. Signature: Sarah Hamlin 8 Introduction i. General Introduction On 18 September 2014, the Scottish electorate was asked ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’ 84.6% of the electorate turned out to vote, ‘the highest recorded at any Scotland-wide poll since the advent of universal suffrage.’1 In response to the question, 44.7% of voters answered ‘Yes’ to independence, and a majority of 55.3% answered ‘No’.2 As a result, Scotland remained in the United Kingdom. During the two year-campaign, Scotland’s writers were a vocal presence in the debate. This thesis is concerned with the complicated relationship between writers, their literary work, and the Referendum,3 with particular focus on the theoretical concepts of nationalism, postcolonialism, and ecopoetics. Work on this thesis commenced nine months before the Referendum took place, and concluded in December 2016. By this time, three further significant electoral moments had taken place in Scotland: the 2015 United Kingdom General Election, the 2016 Scottish Parliamentary Election, and a referendum on the membership of the United Kingdom within the European Union (EU), each of which felt the influence of the Referendum debate. In light of this timing, my desire is that this thesis will serve as a useful portrait of key elements in the relationships between the literary world, the political sphere, and the question of Scottish independence, captured during this critical moment in British history (2014-2016). The thesis is organised into three chapters which are further divided into subsections.