Perhaps the best-known of these collections is Glasgow Zen (1981). It captures, says critic Liz Niven in Scottish Studies Review in September 2003: ‘the philosophical bent of much Glaswegian banter, the concise brevity of Glasgow speech and the incisive wit often found in a passing street conversation.’ It is an extremely amusing collection, investigating the fabric of speech: His longer writings include novels: Its Colours They Are Fine; The Stone Garden; The Magic Flute; Way to Go and The Pure Land. He has also written a number of plays: Sail Makers; Space Invaders and Changed Days. He became writer-in-residence at the University of Aberdeen in 1996, and has held a personal Chair in Creative Writing since 2001. He was also the artistic director of Aberdeen’s annual Word Festival 1999-2011. In 2006, The Pure Land, a historical novel set in Japan, was published by Canongate Books, [3] and is based on the life of Thomas Blake Glover who is allegedly immortalized in the story of Madame Butterfly.

Alan Spence is a member of the Edinburgh Sri Chinmoy Centre and practises meditation. [5] Awards [ edit ] Glasgow’s own Alan Spence’s “Sailmaker” beautifully tells the sad and complex tale of an academically gifted boy and his struggling father. Set in Govan in the 1960s, the story begins with the initial impact upon both at the loss of the boy’s mother, and then follows the father and son through approximately ten years of their lives together. From a teaching standpoint, it's an accessible way of getting kids to think about cultural contexts, gender, class, and local history too if they're from the west of Scotland. It takes some real-life knowledge to understand Davie and what happens to him, and as is typical of school texts set for this age, it's the beginning of understanding complexities which make life a struggle for many.The eye and ear are equally important. What I’ve evolved towards is a three-line form, usually, not more than 17 syllables long (or short). The important thing is the content, catching those little existential moments of thought, what Basho [1644-94, one of Japan’s most famous Haiku poets] called the ah! of things. ( Atoms of Delight) Both plays are Scottish National 5 texts. This is an ideal opportunity for school pupils to see the texts they study come alive on the stage. In addition, there are workshops for school pupils arranged to take place around the performances, hosted by the directors of the plays and when possible some cast members. You’ve been drinkin…” Pg. 16. We’ve just seen Alec playing and using his imagination, now he has to In 1990, Alan Spence published his first novel, The Magic Flute, and this has been followed by two further novels: Way to Go (1998), and The Pure Land (2006), based on the life of Thomas Glover. He is Professor in Creative Writing at the University of Aberdeen and, with his wife, runs the Sri Chinmoy Meditation Centre. He has been the Artistic Director of the Word Festival since 1999.

Alan Spence (born 1947) is a Scottish writer and is Professor in Creative Writing at the University of Aberdeen, [1] where he is also artistic director of the annual WORD Festival. He was born in Glasgow, educated at Allan Glen's School [2] there, and much of his work is set in the city. He first came across haiku at school, when his head was full of Dylan Thomas’s poetry, but by the next year he was reading books about Zen and ‘was making the connection between haiku and a state of mind, a state of being – clear-eyed seeing into “the life of things”’ ( Atoms of Delight). Spence writes in a variety of poetic forms borrowed from Eastern tradition, including haiku and tanka.Alan Spence is a difficult writer to characterise. Not only has he written across genres and covered many themes, his writing often falls somewhere between literature and philosophy. However, everything he writes is shot through with ideas of Zen and contemplative meditation. Spence began practicing contemplative meditation in his twenties. Coupled with long-distance running, these practices form the core of his interests and influence every facet of his writings.

The interpolation of Glaswegian dialect amid lofty Zen phrases produces an insightful book which lingers with the reader long after they have put it down. It is a book which, according to John Hudson, in Markings 15, ‘pops up just when you are about to pop out’ placing you ‘re-signed, pointed in the right direction, the here and now’. In 2022, Edinburgh Come All Ye, a collection of poetry, was published by Scotland Street Press. [4]

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By accessing meditative thought and insight through everyday tasks, Spence reveals a new world in the mundane. Whilst these performances present an excellent opportunity for school students who study the plays, the plays are of course hugely enjoyable for adult audiences and the shows are by no means intended exclusively for schools. Spence is a poet and playwright, novelist and short-story writer, and has recently [ when?] been commissioned by Scottish Opera to set words to a piece of music by Miriama Young. His first work was the collection of short stories Its colours they are fine, first published in 1977. This was followed by two plays, Sailmaker in 1982 and Space Invaders in 1983. The novel The Magic Flute appeared in 1990 along with his first book of poetry Glasgow Zen. In 1991, another of his plays, Changed Days, was published before a brief hiatus.