Politics

13th April 2022

BoJo – Falstaff – Bunter:
or A Greater Englishness?
by Owen Dudley Edwards

Bunteresque? Falstaffian? BoJo-vian? England always gets the best. Owen Dudley Edwards on the rich history of greedy liars in English political and cultural life - Enlisting the critique of George Orwell, PG Wodehouse and fellow Irishman George Bernard Shaw along the way.
21st January 2022

US OR THEM:
Kelman’s ‘The State is Your Enemy’
Reviewed by Federica Giardino

Three new books by James Kelman have just been published by PM Press of California. This must be an exciting time for both Kelman fans and for Kelman Studies. One new novel, one collection of essays, and and a philosophical debate between Kelman and Noam Chomsky -it's a lot to chew on. So The Drouth is delighted to be producing the first reviews of these new works. The final piece in our Kelman series is a review of his new collection of essays by researcher and writer Federica Giardino.
20th January 2022

THE ‘NOT PROVEN’ VERDICT
An open letter to Keith Brown, Justice Secretary
by Owen Dudley Edwards

Last month the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Keith Brown MSP, launched a three-month long consultation on the Not Proven verdict (and other aspects of the Criminal Justice System) and invited responses from the public. The Justice Secretary acknowledged that there are some 'strong opinions' on the verdict. We publish here an open letter the Justice Secretary, written by the Irish historian and writer Owen Dudley Edwards, giving his opinion on the verdict.
5th January 2022

KELMAN & CHOMSKY Reviewed by Carole Jones

Three new books by James Kelman have just been published by PM Press of California. This must be an exciting time for both Kelman fans and for Kelman Studies. One new novel, one collection of essays, and and a philosophical debate between Kelman and Noam Chomsky -it's a lot to chew on. So The Drouth is delighted to be producing the first reviews of these new works. First up is literary critic and scholar Carole Jones with her reading of the decades long engagement between Kelman and Chomsky mapped out through this published collection of essays, interviews and correspondence between the two writers.
6th November 2021

Glasgow, Clydeside’s Carbon Capital
by Ewan Gibbs

Was the Second City of Empire the First City of the carbon economy? Ewan Gibbs takes a tour through history and across civic space to show us the special sites of interest in 'Glasgow's role in the making of a fossil burning world'
3rd November 2021

‘Survival Tools of the Anthropocene’: Islandness and Resilience in Saoirse Higgins’ Pap-ØY-cene
by Antonia Thomas

How is the Anthropocene at sea/local level? And how can climate change be be felt, and dealt with through the time worn understandings and handlings of material in the oceanic zones? Reviewing Saoirse Higgins' show PapØycene at the Pier in Stromness, Antonia Thomas suggests that art and artists can open us to new perspectives - and that Higgins, in particular, sets a 'benchmark' here.
29th October 2021

No Abstract Notion: Survival
by Sophie Gerrard

The beautiful photographic documentation of 'environmental stories' by Sophie Gerrard allows us to pose questions about damage and care and recovery and the relationships between them.
29th October 2021

Looking for Scottish Modern
by Dominic Hinde

Are some places more obviously adaptable and amenable to new environmental measures and regimes, and what are the economics and politics of some of the new necessities? Guest Editor for our Climate theme, Dominic Hinde, surfs the local modern to sample the global drift.
22nd October 2021

Why Afghanistan?
by
Owen Dudley Edwards

The absurdities of the American War in Afghanistan -backed by their allies- are exposed here by Owen Dudley Edwards. As another view of the tragedy it is heartbreaking in its farcical detail, and recounts a sorry tale which, despite withdrawal of US and allied troops, is far from over for the people of the region.