Developing Literary Glasgow: Towards a Strategy for a Reading, Writing and Publishing City Paul J Docherty A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Publishing Studies University of Stirling March 2018 Developing Literary Glasgow Abstract Since the 1990s, urban cultural policy in the UK has been bound to the cause of urban regeneration. Much has been written in examination and critique of this relationship, but what happens when the direction of strategic attention is reversed and civic leadership seeks to regenerate culture itself? The city of Glasgow, having made capital of culture over many decades, has moved towards a strategy for the development of literary Glasgow. This thesis documents a search for those factors crucial to that strategy. The research focuses on literary Glasgow as one aspect of the city’s cultural sector; identifies and examines gaps in the relationship between the civic cultural organisation and literary communities; and highlights those elements vital to the formation of a strategy for development of the literary in Glasgow. An extended period of participatory ethnographic research within the Aye Write! book festival and Sunny Govan Community Radio, is supplemented with data from interviews conducted across the literary sector and analysis of organisational documentation. Through these a gap has been identified between the policies and operations of a civic cultural organisation, and the desires of those engaged within the literary community. This gap is caused, in part, by the lack of a mechanism with which to reconcile contrasting narratives about the cultural essence of the city, or to negotiate the variations in definitions of value in relation to cultural engagement. The interdisciplinary approach builds upon insights from existing work within publishing studies, cultural policy, complexity theory and organisational studies to construct an understanding of the dynamics of Glasgow’s literary sector. This reveals the need for a framework in support of a landscape of practice, a desire for the placement of boundary objects to facilitate engagement, and the significance of value in relation to participation in literary activity. This work informs a strategy for literary Glasgow and contributes to conversations on strategies for cultural development in other cities. 2 Developing Literary Glasgow Declaration This thesis is presented in accordance with the regulations for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. It has been composed by myself and has not been submitted in any previous application for any degree. It contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma. Signature: Date: 29 March 2018 3 Developing Literary Glasgow Acknowledgements This research was made possible by a kaleidoscope of generosities. I would like to offer my gratitude to the University of Stirling, and to the Arts and Humanities Research Council who funded this research as a Collaborative Doctoral Award (AH/L008610/1), to those who make principled decisions to defend research from cuts, and to all those taxpayers and other contributors who make this defence possible. I owe a great deal to Glasgow Life staff, past and present, who have assisted in every stage of this research with patience, generosity and candour. I would like to thank Dr Mark O’Neill and Karen Cunningham for the trust that they showed in me by allowing me to set sail with this precious cargo, and to Jean Cameron and Simon Biggam for their encouragement and guidance. To the Aye Write! team, in all its editions, I express my gratitude, and especially to Katrina (‘unstoppable’) Brodin, who continually inspires with her commitment to sharing the gift of reading. To the team at SunnyG, who know what life is about and keep giving anyway, thanks for the tea, tunes, time and trust. Thank you also to all those who took the time to speak to me about literary Glasgow. I’ve met you all and know it’s in safe hands. To my supervisors, Professor Claire Squires and Professor Richard Haynes: you believed in me when even I couldn’t, and it has changed my life. Thank you for your wisdom, patience, generosity, good humour and friendship. You have given me worlds. To all my family and friends, I’m sorry for being absent even when I was around. I will make up for it. To my love, Angela, who always knew we could do it. It’s for us. 4 Developing Literary Glasgow Contents Introduction 9 Glasgow Life 11 Glasgow and cultural regeneration 14 Methodology 17 The City of Glasgow 40 Chapter One: Exploring the Issues 53 Chapter Two: Reading Glasgow, Mapping the sector 83 Libraries and community learning 84 Literary networks and support organisations 97 Festivals 103 The book festivals 104 Publishing 106 Booksellers 109 Live literature, reading and writing groups 114 Putting literature on the map 119 Chapter Three: Aye Write! Glasgow’s Book Festival 122 The Programme Advisory Group 127 Aims, objectives and expectations 128 Evolving festival models 153 Chapter Four: Reading the Waves – Launching a (Reader)Ship in Govan 167 The bench 169 Govan and SunnyG 174 Becoming involved 177 Analysis 191 Chapter Five: All on the Same Page 196 Multiple agendas within the literary sector 197 Importance of partnership working 208 Complexity Theory and boundary objects 220 5 Developing Literary Glasgow Chapter Six: Towards a Strategy 226 Money and resources 227 Connectivity 234 Value 245 Direction 248 A model for Literary Glasgow 258 Conclusion 272 Bibliography 282 Appendices 297 Appendix I – List of interviewees Appendix II – Interview schedules 6 Developing Literary Glasgow Table of Figures Figure 1 Promotional image from ECOC 1990 14 Figure 2 Gold’s typology of participant observer roles 29 Figure 3 Unemployment rates for population aged 16 and over 41 Figure 4 Areas in Glasgow suffering from highest levels of 42 deprivation according to SIMD Figure 5 Significant milestones in Glasgow’s cultural regeneration 43 Figure 6 Community Library Administrative Divisions 86 Figure 7 Community Library Areas 87 Figure 8 Glasgow Library Visits per year 92 Figure 9 Outside Glasgow Women’s Library 97 Figure 10 Request for info on Spoken Word events in Glasgow – from 115 Scottish Poetry & Spoken Word Facebook page [October 2017] Figure 11 Aye Write! Organising structure and meeting groups 136 Figure 12 Aye Write! 2015 Community Engagement and Creative 137 Learning Programme Design Brief Figure 13 Four factors of a simple book festival model 142 Figure 14 Aye Write! 2015 customer feedback – Attendance 144 Figure 15 Aye Write! 2015 customer feedback – Venue and Event 144 Choice Figure 16 Aye Write! 2015 customer feedback – Age 145 Figure 17 Aye Write! 2015 Customer Survey Results – Age and 149 Gender Figure 18 Aye Write! 2015 Customer Survey Results – The 150 Programme Figure 19 Three Equal Aims of Aye Write! 154 Figure 20 Audience foregrounded 154 Figure 21 Three Drivers 156 Figure 22 Aye Write! 2015 Customer Survey Results – Ticket prices 158 Figure 23 Outside SunnyG 167 Figure 24 Brian McQuade with a copy of his book 186 Figure 25 Four dimensions of literary Glasgow and some illustrative 206 examples Figure 26 Four dimensions of literary activity 207 Figure 27 Partnership Involvement: Early Intervention in the Early 210 Years Figure 28 Stage 1 265 Figure 29 Stage 2 266 Figure 30 Five Conditions of Collective Impact 269 Figure 31 Stage 3 271 7 Developing Literary Glasgow 8 Developing Literary Glasgow Introduction The City of Glasgow has made capital of culture. Since the mid-1980s Glasgow’s cultural sector has been quarried as a resource for the rebuilding, regeneration and rebranding of the city, and although there are criticisms of the methods and impacts of these, there is no doubt that this civic-cultural sector relationship has brought about transformation both within the city and in how it is perceived by others beyond. Culture has been deployed as a tool of urban regeneration by many cities over the past three decades. What happens when the direction of strategic attention is reversed, and civic leadership seeks to regenerate culture itself? Glasgow Life, the city’s main cultural organisation and an arm’s length external organisation (ALEO) of Glasgow City Council, initiated this collaborative doctoral project along with the University of Stirling’s Centre for International Publishing and Communication, with the aim of generating research to inform a strategy for the development of literary Glasgow. This research focuses on literary Glasgow as one aspect of the city’s cultural sector. It considers the following questions: Which factors are significant to the individuals, communities and organisations of literary Glasgow? (RQ1) Which factors are crucial to development of the literary in Glasgow? (RQ2) And, in the light of the answers to these questions, how can Glasgow Life perform an effective role in the development of literary Glasgow? (RQ3) Answers to these questions were sought through a multi-method approach: which included a series of semi-structured interviews with people across the range of literary Glasgow activity; two separate channels of participant ethnography over the research period; and analysis of documentation from Glasgow Life. This process identified gaps and problem areas in the relationships between Glasgow Life and literary communities. It highlighted those factors considered crucial to development of the literary in Glasgow by those within Glasgow Life, and those with no formal connection to the organisation. The multiple data sources allowed an element of cross-checking across fields, and the length of the study period enabled the 9 Developing Literary Glasgow enrichment and refinement of concepts which arose. By bringing these data together in the light of literature on complexity, cultural value and organisational theory, this thesis can propose a direction for the formation of a strategy for literary Glasgow.