THE LIST
REPORTS
October is an odious month particularly it you're an author hoping to wipe out your oy‘crdral’t with a tax-free windfall from a
literary prize. As ey er the Booker was first
out ol the stalls with the announcement of its shortlist on In September. the winner to be garlanded at the (iuildhall on 35 October. A rather predictable line up leatures a pair ol' past w inners(Salman Rushdie and Penelope Fitzgerald). two prey'ious also-rans ( Peter ('arey and
Day id Lodge). a classy sprinter ( Bruce ('hatw in ) and a tiny w ith brains ( .‘ylarina Warner ). The smart money is on Rushdie but don‘t discount ('arey's ().y'(‘(ll'mlr/ Lucinda. a smashing story about a gambler and an Aussie heiress fascinated by glass.
No less predictable was the absence for the umpteenth year of a novel by a Scottiin writer. In the nigh on twentyyear history of the Prize jtist two booksby Scottish w riters hay e reached the shortlist. Muriel Spark's Loire/mg wit/r Intenland I'Irmn .S‘r‘enc’y Like 'Iiltes‘e by ( iordon Williams. though apparently Anthony Burgess argued for Alasdair (iray’s lunar/r to be included in 1981. The Scottish contenders this year were likewise thin on the ground. totallirigjtist I'our: Muriel Spark. Dorothy I)unnett. (‘andia MeWilIiam and Magda Sweetland. all but the l'irst-mentioned beingpassed oy‘erby punditsasw'ildcards.
While the £15.00” he won last time doesn‘t seem to base had any ill ell‘ecl on Rttsltdie's prose style. could it be that the doling out of cash to dcsery ing yy'ot'tismllhs north of the border is actually responsible for the dearth ol'('aledonian l’rontrunners'.’ While the A rts ( ‘ouncil in Iingland leay es its authors to stary e. its Scottish arm has recently handed out a total of £36.01)” in the 1mm of bursariesto ten w riters. Perhaps the leaner. litter noy'elist wins the Booker.
Certainly there is no lack ol Scottish novelsto choose lrom. The MacVitie Prize. torScottish writing. had received 84 nominations when entries closed. 60% at them apparently novels. What‘s good enough lor one prize. it seems, is not worth incommoding the judges ol another. Be that as it may.
Won last year by David Thomson. now sadly deceased. lor his evocative portrayal ol his lormative years in the north-east.
Nairn in Lightness and Dark. there‘s a good chance that the second winner olthe MacVitie will emerge ham 8 pack (how easy it is to slip into turt terminology) that includes Frederic Lindsay‘s A Charm Against Drowning. Bernard MacLaverty‘s The Great Prolundo. Sea Music by David Prolumo. the ubiquitous Mrs Spark. and — heaven lorbid— Sharman MacDonald’s Night Night.
What price at‘t'.’ The news that Miller lIomes haye just spent going on L 111.0011 buy ing back tour of the blocks ol sandstone which they gay e to the ( ilasgow Sculpture Studio this summershould w arm the hearts ol~ those w ho belieye in business sponsorship ol the arts. The tour sculptures l by l't'sula Bey an. I Iironori Katagiri.1.inda Reddy and Kate Thomson) are the only pieces bought so lar l'rom the exhibition on the ( ilasgow 11iin Street building site. They w ere. says Kate Thomson. sold at less than they might time been on the open market.
lain .\1c(‘oll. director ol Miller I Ionics. is quite happy w ith the transaction: “It was redundant stone. relatiyely worthless, We are paying lor the sculptors' labours'. lle
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did remark that the w hole project had been an expensiy'e one for Miller. w ho provided a generator. tools and a lork-lilt truck during the eight week period ol work on the sculptures. 'Sponsorship depends on both parties achiey ing some sort ol return. There's been quite a lot ol publicity which is doing both parties no harm at all.'
Neverone to be Ieltlar behind. Edinburgh is in the process at commissioning its own outdoor sculpture. John Lewis‘s cosmetic surgery to the grey. wrinkled lace ol the St James Centre. and the erection (a piece ol performance art in itsell) ot promisineg substantial hoardings along the Greenside site opposite. have lilled the DistrictCouncil with conlidence enough to ask Eduardo Paolozzi to design a sculpture lor the top ol Leith Walk. Bitter memories ol the Dainton Tower. the expensive sculptural lailure which sputtered its neon last lrom the too-damp roundabout. should be lorgotten. This. promises BogerJones. director at Recreation at EDC. will be no lump at local authority statuary. parachuted down onto unsuspecting citizens. Paolozzi. Queen's sculptor in Scotland and a Leith Walkman himselt. is intent on making the piece relevant to the area. The design is. asyet. unconlirmed. but local ingredients will play an essential part: rocks. water. pieces at nearby buildings which have been demolished. And contributions. linancial or in kind. lrom the local business community.
Barrie l Iumphries Visits Iidinburgh ior a
Turning stone Into art as raported last lortnlght. Now tha’va turned art Into money.
twolold purpose in late ( )ctober: to display his gruesome east ol characters in a tun-packed show at the Play house. and to take a w eek oll dressing-up to record 1)ame Mina Iiy eragc's ( 'lrriymms :1 {bunt at an undisclosed city studio. I)etai|sare \ ague. but we are promised an album of wholesome tamin layourites. The only title so lat leaked to us is the morbid pop classic leader ol the Pack. not a songonc \ytllllti L‘\pc‘cl til the Illc‘ gladioli-llourishing liousew ile superstar. The idea couldn't Ilay e been sparked oil- by the rather lame .loan ( 'ollins Fan (‘1th
y ersion. could it‘.’
BBC Scotland will not conlirm that HBH the Prince ol Wales visited their Glasgow studios to record a voice-over last Thursday. despite
the lact that the usual (lor Royal visits) spanking-new lavatory was installed and that Colin Bell let slip to the nation that he had taught his waythrough unusuallytight securitythat morning. Selective secrecy might be employed next time, however. Audio stall. unaware ol the great privilege in store. arrived in their usual unceremonial dress and were duly despalched home to change into something more suitable. It lurther prool ol the Royal presence were needed. look no lurtherthanthe extraordinary quantity ol lurniture polish expended onto the mirrored surlaces olthe Queen Margaret Drive layer and into the air to be breathed by the ozone-layer-conscious Prince.
CONTRIBUTORS l
PUDIISI‘IBT Robin I lodge. Editors Nigel Billen. Sarah I lemming. Associate EdilorAllan Hunter. Design Simon i‘.\lel'stnl. Advertising/Circulation .Iess Barrow. Rhobat Bryn. Sheila Maclean. Accounts (ieotgelte chwick. Typesetting .Io Kennedy. Nikki lloare. Iiewei ‘I'cyt Production Editor Paul Keir. Production Co-ordinator .ylark l-islier. Production Assistants Nicholas ( iillard. Iain (irant . Art Alice Barn. Books Alan 'l'ay lor. Kristina Woolnough Classical Music ( ‘arol Main. Dance Alice Rain. Film Allan Hunter. 'I’reyoi Johnston. Folk/Jazz Norman ( 'halmcrs. Food .lulie .\Iorriec. Sally
Ken.
Stewart. Kids Sally Kinnes. Media Nigel Iltllen. Nightlile Stuart Raiket . Andy (‘iablx ('olin Stey en. Open Sarah llemming. Bock (Edinburgh) .\t;ilw. Bock (GIBSQOWHohn Williamson. Sport Stuart Halllgale. Theatre Sarah Ilemming.TraveI Kristina Woolnougli Camera lzdinburgh Make-up
Sery ices Cover Cover
Design Nigel Iiillen. l’aul
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Money Cover Design Nigel Billen. I’aul Keir.
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