Nowadays, Association for Scottish Literary Studies is a topic that captures the attention of many people around the world. From its impact on society to its influence on popular culture, Association for Scottish Literary Studies has managed to generate great interest and debate in different sectors. Over the years, Association for Scottish Literary Studies has evolved and acquired new dimensions that make it relevant today. In this article, we will explore the different facets of Association for Scottish Literary Studies, from its origin and evolution to its impact on modern society. Through a detailed analysis, we seek to better understand this phenomenon and reflect on its importance in our daily lives.
Scottish educational charity
The Association for Scottish Literary Studies (ASLS) is a Scottish educational charity, founded in 1970 to promote and support the teaching, study and writing of Scottish literature. Its founding members included the Scottish literary scholar Matthew McDiarmid (1914–1996). Originally based at the University of Aberdeen, it moved to its current home within the University of Glasgow in 1996. In November 2015, ASLS was allocated £40,000 by the Scottish Government to support its work providing teacher training and classroom resources for schools.
ASLS produces periodicals, including Scottish Literary Review (formerly Scottish Studies Review), a peer reviewedjournal of Scottish literature and cultural studies; Scottish Language, a peer reviewed journal of Scottish languages and linguistics; The International Journal of Scottish Literature, a free online peer reviewed journal (2006–2013); and The Bottle Imp, a free online ezine (named after the short story by Robert Louis Stevenson). Since June 2013, Scottish Literary Review has been included in Project MUSE's Premium Collection of journals.
Books
Annual Volumes
Since 1971 ASLS has republished a number of out of print Scottish texts in their Annual Volumes series (45 volumes by 2016). Titles in the series include reprints of 18th- and 19th-century fiction, anthologies of Scottish drama, editions of poetry and collections of other writings. Two ASLS Annual Volumes have won Saltire SocietyResearch Book of the Year awards: The Poems of William Dunbar, edited by Priscilla Bawcutt (1998), and Sorley MacLean's Dàin do Eimhir, edited by Christopher Whyte (2002).
The ASLS Occasional Papers series publishes essays and monographs on Scottish literary and linguistic topics, often based on papers presented at ASLS conferences. The most recent edition in this series, number 25, is entitled Christianity in Scottish Literature.
Scotnotes
ASLS publishes the Scotnotes series of study guides to Scottish writers and their literary works. There are currently thirty-nine titles in this series, on authors ranging from late medieval poets such as William Dunbar and Robert Henryson to contemporary writers such as Iain Banks, Liz Lochhead and Ian Rankin.
In June 2011, with financial support from the Gaelic Books Council, ASLS published a new edition of Sorley MacLean's An Cuilithionn/The Cuillin.
In February 2013, ASLS hosted the inaugural Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship, set up by Creative Scotland "to enable a writer to take time out of their usual environment to embark upon a year-long literary adventure to develop their practice".Kirsty Logan was selected to be the first recipient of the Fellowship, and on 10 August 2015 ASLS published her collection of short stories A Portable Shelter.
In 2011, the ASLS's edition of Sorley MacLean's An Cuilithionn/The Cuillin, edited by Christopher Whyte, was shortlisted for the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year award.
Also in 2011, along with VisitScotland and the University of Glasgow, the ASLS co-produced Literary Scotland: A Traveller's Guide. In October 2011, this publication won the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Scotland Gold Award for Best Publication.
In 2021, the ASLS Annual Volume Dràma na Gàidhlig: Ceud Bliadhna air an Àrd-ùrlar / A Century of Gaelic Drama, edited by Michelle Macleod, won the Gaelic Books CouncilDonald Meek Award for Best Non-Fiction.
^Baker, William; Lister, Michael, eds. (2007). David Daiches: a Celebration of His Life and Work. Eastbourne, UK: Sussex Academic Press. p. 70. ISBN978-1-84519-159-7.