Stuart Hood: literature, media and politics in modern Scotland

Riach, A. (2020) Stuart Hood: literature, media and politics in modern Scotland. In: Hutchison, D. and Johnson, D. (eds.) Stuart Hood: Twentieth-Century Partisan. Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Newcastle. ISBN 9781527554474

Abstract

'Riach emphasises the polymathic dimension of Stuart Hood's abilities, arguing that more than any other intellectual of his time, Hood understood the relationship between the claims of literature and the arts, on the one hand, and the mass media, on the other. Analysing Hood's novels A Storm from Paradise and The Brutal Heart in relation to the work of several of his contemporaries - Brecht, MacDiarmid, Orwell and Fried, - as well as to his successors like James Robertson, Ali Smith and Jackie Kay, Riach demonstrates Hood's continuing relevance and prescience. Continuing with a sympathetic discussion of recent figures who have reiterated Hood's arguments for the radical reform of the Scottish media, Riach concludes, "We could do a lot worse than go back to Stuart Hood, or rather, better, we could make certain that we have Stuart Hood with us, as we go forward." (from the Introduction by David Johnson and David Hutchison)

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Keywords: Stuart Hood, Scottish literature, mass media, politics.
• Status: Published
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Riach, Professor Alan
• Authors: Riach, A.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > PE English; P Language and Literature > PR English literature
• College/School: College of Arts > School of Critical Studies > Scottish Literature
• Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
• ISBN: 9781527554474