Modernism and Nationalism

What made the twentieth-century interwar literary renaissance unique among Scottish cultural movements was the belief of those involved that any regeneration of the nation's artistic culture could not be separated from revival in its social, economic and political life. An additional priority was engagement with Europe and with the artistic and intellectual ideas of the modern period. Nationalism, internationalism and modernity were therefore seen as complementary and interactive parts of an ambitious national renewal project. Modernism and Nationalism: Literature and Society in Scotland 1918-1939 is an edited collection of primary sources from this challenging period. Through excerpts from periodical articles, book chapters, letters and other documents, it brings us the voices of writers such as MacDiarmid, Gunn, Linklater, Compton Mackenzie, Naomi Mitchison, the Muirs, Carswells and many others, reviewing and arguing over the literary, social, economic and political issues of their time, both at home and abroad, while in the process offering new insights into the ideas behind their own creative writing. The book makes an important contribution to our understanding of interwar Scotland.