Information Scotland

The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland

June 2004 Volume 2 (3)

Endpiece

Don't play safe with talent

Colin Will hopes the Cultural Policy will address the plight of our literature.

First, my thanks to Gerry MacLean, Librarian at the State Hospital in Carstairs, for inviting me to visit. This arose partly as a result of a previous column in Information Scotland, so it was very gratifying to be in a position to follow up my original interest. Part of the visit involved seeing the library service and discussing it with Gerry, and the rest was a poetry reading and discussion with some of the patients. Both elements were impressive, successful and memorable, and I look forward to going back soon.

The trip was made possible in part by the Scottish Book Trust’s Live Literature Scotland programme, through which writers are helped to take their work into their communities and elsewhere, through part funding at a standard rate. The scheme also helps the organisations and institutions visited, by contributing towards their costs, so it helps both partners. It’s an excellent and very practical way of improving access to literature – one of the key elements of the Scottish Executive’s cultural strategy. The website (www.scottishbooktrust.com) lists writers available under the scheme and tells organisations how they can book a visit, so if your library or book group wants to meet an author, this should be a first step.

Speaking of cultural strategy, I read with interest the Executive’s April Cultural Policy Statement, (available online and as a downloadable PDF at www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/education/ncs04-00.asp). It’s a very wide-ranging document which aims to build an effective infrastructure for our arts, heritage, screen and creative industries. The first stage in the process has been to set up a review of the cultural sector through establishing an independent Commission with a clear remit and a strict timescale. The Commission is to take the long view, and to come up with proposals which will endure for at least a generation. It will encourage innovative solutions and confront stereotypical notions of culture. It therefore has the potential to make a considerable difference to the way in which culture is delivered on the doorsteps of Scotland. The notion of cultural rights and entitlements are set out – a radically welcome start.

The scope of the Commission’s work will embrace, not only the arts and creative industries, but also museums and heritage, galleries, libraries and archives, events, festivals and sports. Colleagues in SLIC and CILIPS will doubtless already be preparing positions, but I will confine my thoughts to the literature sector.

The Scottish Arts Council Departmental Spending budget for 2004/2005 totals approximately £67.6M, of which just over £2M goes on literature (www.scottisharts.org.uk). That may sound a lot, but it’s just under 3% of the total. Now I’m certainly not arguing for cuts in support for the other arts in Scotland, but it may explain why some elements of the Scottish literary scene feel that literature is in danger of being marginalised, or at least being threatened by pressures on the SAC’s overall budget.

Literature, past and present, is a vibrant and powerful element in our culture; our authors are influential, and the contributions of Scottish literature to our national life and prosperity are very significant. In the furthest flung outposts of civilisation, the names of Burns, Scott, Byron and Rowling resonate. Our publishers, small in number though they may be these days, are respected for their quality and professionalism, as are our excellent literary agents. Our literary organisations and institutions are innovative and very access-conscious, spanning the whole of our geographical and topical ranges and providing services for the whole population.

I look forward to the Commission recommending policies, strategies, and an infrastucture for support which better reflects the importance of our literature and the creative industries which depend on it. I also hope that the new infrastructure will be able to develop a long-term partnership between our literary organisations and their principal funders. I further hope that the new structures will be more accountable to the people of Scotland and to those who originate, promote and deliver our literary fruits.

I turn now to the Scottish poetry publishing scene. The number of independent (non-subsidised) specialist publishers dedicated to publishing poetry can now be numbered on the fingers of one finger, and there aren’t too many general publishers who have a substantial poetry list. The decline has maybe been so gradual and undramatic that many will not have noticed it, but for working writers the effects have become increasingly serious. As the number of outlets for our work within Scotland has dropped, the pressures on the remaining editors and publishers has increased, and I worry that too many will be obliged to ‘play safe’ and print only established writers, to the detriment of new talent. And those publishers receiving subsidy from the Scottish Arts Council seem to me to be trying to jump through hoops while riding on a roller-coaster, as those who hold the hoops look backwards over their shoulders trying to guess what their political masters want from them.

Self-publishing is increasing, but that doesn’t always get new books into bookshops. One new approach is that of ‘collective’ publishing, as exemplified by Makar Press of Ayrshire (www.makarpress.co.uk). Four excellent poets found they couldn’t find a publisher for their work, so they got together and did it themselves, sharing the editorial, promotional and marketing side of the business. This is a model which I suspect others will follow.

Colin Will (colin.will@zen.co.uk)

Information Scotland Vol. 2 (3) June 2004

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Last updated: 6 July 2004