Alistair Findlay – författare

Alistair Findlay, author of the acclaimed Shale Voices, takes a measured look at those three most important facets of life - sex, death, and of course football.Football has never been a science so much as a heartbeat away from a sclaf, an unlucky bobble, catastrophe - a bit like Sex and Death - and thus a suitable case for poetry. - ALISTAIR FINDLAY Showing great individuality, energy and wit, Findlay creates 'elegies - with edge' in this accessible and uncompromising collection. With his ear for natural human expression and appetite for life, he succeeds in crafting poetry teeming with both humanity and humour. His poems bridge the gap between perceptions of 'high' and popular culture, and tackle with rare insight the breadth of human experience, both sacred and profane.

This is the first collection of Scots poetry devoted entirely to football. It includes many of 20th century Scotland's best known poets such as Hugh MacDiarmid, Norman MacCaig, Iain Crichton Smith and Jackie Kay. Spanning centuries and a wide variety of perspectives on the popular sport, this brilliant collection sums up the best and the worst of football spirit.

From local legend, newspaper reports and family history, Alistair Findlay has pieced together a comprehensive documentary of Scotland's shale mining industry; of the people, communities and generations of families involved, and the cultural and political impact of the industry. Enlivened throughout with numerous photographs, drawings, poetry and short stories, this incredible history of human courage, endurance and endeavour will appeal to any reader with an interest in Scotland's social and cultural history.

Alistair Findlay's compilation of poems about social work shows the reader that the world they are living in is often shaped by poverty. Not much has been written about the stories that fill social worker's lives, and Findlay offers sad, sometimes absurd, insights. He creates poems for everyone who wants to know what goes on behind closed doors.

Join Alistair Findlay on an off-beat tour of Scotland, from museum artefacts to public pieces of art, where he captures the humorous, passionate, and sometimes biting voices of some of our national treasures.

there’ll be nae cries omiseryjist the creakin souno openin doorsRead these poems and be inspired.In the wake of the 1979 Devolution Referendum, followed by the impact of Thatcherite policies on Scottish society, many Scottish writers and intellectuals began articulating the distinctiveness of Scottish literary, cultural, social and political traditions and outlooks. Some joined popular political campaigns, from opposing the Poll-Tax and Trident to the Campaign for a Scottish Assembly, which led to a Scottish Parliament. Many now look forward to new possibilities for the future with more confidence in the value and importance of our country’s culture and politics, as these poems reveal.Whatever the outcome of Scotland’s Independence Referendum on 18 September 2014, a better Scotland is possible. Across every aspect of life in Scotland – housing, inequality, life expectancy, health, education, crime, sectarianism, localism and more – we all know that a better Scotland is possible. And then there’s Trident. And the Bedroom Tax. And the Democratic Deficit. And on it goes.