Clear
Light
The
Magic Flute
Prizes
& Awards
"Alan's poems are glorious. Sharp, clear-eyed,
seasonal, cyclical, devastatingly sensuous little moments that catch the
heart with intimations of the whole big thing of being alive, here, now.
So precise they make you want to sneeze, or laugh. A joy and a delight."
Liz Lochhead
'Alan Spence is the Scottish master of the haiku, the Japanese lyric form - normally seventeen syllables, three lines, 5/7/5 - in which 'epics are shrunk to epigrams.' His Clear Light offers an observation for every occasion, or nearly ever occasion, and one for all seasons. To read a collection of haiku from cover to cover in one sitting is hard-going: paradoxically, the apparently simple intensity of each piece as a single work seems to diminish in the attempt, as all risk conflating into one massive poem. So I found the only way to enjoy and to get something from this collection of 150 haiku was to read them a dozen at a time. It certainly paid off. Like the late Alexander Scott's 'Scotched' - two-liners about Scottish culture, life and art which appeared over several years in different literary journals and contained nuggets of wry wisdom - Spence's jewel-like haiku are best savoured in short snatches. Out of several dozen wee beauties I could quote to illustrate Spence's mastery of the form, I will satisfy myself with two: in 'secondhand bookshop' Spence, with no apparent self-pity, faces up with wise resignation to the fate of all authors, 'secondhand bookshop -/my own books/musty as the rest.' His winter haiku sequence is breathtaking, like the air on a piercingly sharp winter's day. The title-poem ends the collection, bringing us safe to haven, 'this bright morning/glass buddha/in the clear light.'
Michael Lister
'Textualities'
Singing Lucier & Other New Poetry, 2005
Lovereading view...
Alan Spence's collection of haiku beautifully explores brief moments in time, from making a cup of tea to a summer downpour. There are 150 poems, perfect for dipping into or reading in one sitting. Delightful.
Liz Lochhead
'Alan Spence is the Scottish master of the haiku, the Japanese lyric form - normally seventeen syllables, three lines, 5/7/5 - in which 'epics are shrunk to epigrams.' His Clear Light offers an observation for every occasion, or nearly ever occasion, and one for all seasons. To read a collection of haiku from cover to cover in one sitting is hard-going: paradoxically, the apparently simple intensity of each piece as a single work seems to diminish in the attempt, as all risk conflating into one massive poem. So I found the only way to enjoy and to get something from this collection of 150 haiku was to read them a dozen at a time. It certainly paid off. Like the late Alexander Scott's 'Scotched' - two-liners about Scottish culture, life and art which appeared over several years in different literary journals and contained nuggets of wry wisdom - Spence's jewel-like haiku are best savoured in short snatches. Out of several dozen wee beauties I could quote to illustrate Spence's mastery of the form, I will satisfy myself with two: in 'secondhand bookshop' Spence, with no apparent self-pity, faces up with wise resignation to the fate of all authors, 'secondhand bookshop -/my own books/musty as the rest.' His winter haiku sequence is breathtaking, like the air on a piercingly sharp winter's day. The title-poem ends the collection, bringing us safe to haven, 'this bright morning/glass buddha/in the clear light.'
Michael Lister
'Textualities'
Singing Lucier & Other New Poetry, 2005
Lovereading view...
Alan Spence's collection of haiku beautifully explores brief moments in time, from making a cup of tea to a summer downpour. There are 150 poems, perfect for dipping into or reading in one sitting. Delightful.
Lucien Stryk
'How much pure energy can be packed into a book that fits into a hand, a book so small it will slip easily into a back pocket? Seasons of the Heart, Alan Spence's first poetry collection since Glasgow Zen, testifies in 150 haiku to the sheer potential of the small. It is a reminder of the power of simplicity ... Seasons of the Heart becomes a meditative and sustained delivery of both energy and purity. Spence is a calm and necessary visionary ... This is Spence in essence, all openness of instinct and imagination.'
Ali Smith,
The Hera
The
Three Estaites |
| 'The
magnum opus of Scottish Renaissance drama... Alan Spence's newly updated
script simultaneously illuminates Lindsay's groundbreaking achievement
in marrying vernacular language with sophisticated verse forms, while
at the same time adding yet more weight to the assertion of Scots'
expressive dynamism and eloquence as a language for literary drama.' The Independent |
Glasgow
Zen |
|
'Sharp,
penetrating, wry, funny, sad . . . evoked with wonderful precision.' Edwin Morgan |
|
Way
To Go |
| 'Picking
up where Evelyn Waugh left off in The Loved One, Spence turns a touching
'60s coming-of-age story about a Scottish undertaker's son into a
sharp, funny and ultimately gut-wrenching commentary on the ceremonies
that surround death and dying.' Powells City of Books |
| 'The
Magic Flute is the most compelling example of Spence's abiding preoccupation
with the ways in which characters can be suddenly shocked from their
everyday complacency by the realisation that there is something out
there (whether that be political, spiritual, cultural) that is way
bigger than themselves........' The List Glasgow and Edinburgh Events Guide |
Its
Colours They Are Fine |
|
'This
collection of evocative short stories based in Glasgow includes The
Palace, set in the Botanic Gardens where I was brought up. Not only
is it well observed and written, but it was also the first piece of
literature I read that related so closely to my own life.' The Newsletter Neil Curtis Marishal Museum |
The
Pure Land |
| 'With
exotic locations, a beautiful woman and a battle against an evil shogun,
Thomas Blake Glover's life sounds too fantastic to be true.
But
now the unsung North-East hero's real-life adventures and achievements
are set to become a best-selling novel.......' Simon Johnson This is North Scotland |
| 'One
of the much anticipated new novels of the summer is Alan Spence's
The Pure Land, launched at the Book Festival, the fictionalised story
of Aberdeen shipping clerk Thomas Glover.....Spence
has turned the story into a beautiful, satisfying novel. ' Living Scotsman.com |
| 'The
Pure Land is a page turner of the first order — but what sets
this novel apart is its philosophical depth, a depth and texture that
could have been achieved only by a writer steeped in Buddhist ideas.....
a meditative work of art that is as finely honed as a samurai’s
sword.' John Burnside www.timesonline.co.uk |
Alan
Spence has produced a modern epic, at once a rattling good adventure,
a heart-wrenching love story, and a journey of the spirit. Penguin Books, South Africa |
Alan
Spence puts body and soul into the Aberdeen literary festival
he founded.. .......... LIVING.scotsman.com |
| 1990 | Scottish
Arts Council Book Award Seasons of the Heart |
| 1991 | Glasgow
Herald People's Prize The Magic Flute |
| 1993 | Macallan/Scotland
on Sunday Short Story Competition Nessun Dorma |
| 1995 | McVities
Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year Stone Garden |
| 1996 | Scottish Arts Council Book Award |
| 1996 | TMA
Regional Theatre Award On the Line |
| 2000 | Scottish Arts Council Book Award |
| 2006 | Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award - Writing Section |
| Community
Media Association An edition of the television programme Writers’ Stories, featuring novelist, poet and short story writer Alan Spence in an interview recorded at the 2003 Edinburgh International Book Festival. 
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