The Greenock Writing Voice

Homage to a few local writers: Cathy MacPhail, Alan Sharp and my Gran - featuring an interview with David Manderson.

For my blog this week, I want to pay homage to some of Greenock’s writers. It is important to know that there are successful and published authors, who come from the same area and have a similar background to you. You feel represented and the work itself means more: it transforms from just another book or screenplay to a source of inspiration and hope. If it is possible for others, why not you?

There are lots of Greenock writers with different creative voices, I couldn’t possibly discuss all of them. I have selected a few for different reasons: Catherine MacPhail, Alan Sharp and my own Gran. I’ll discuss why I’ve decided to talk about these writers in particular. Perhaps, it is unexpected and surprising to some that Greenock is the vibrant home to lots of talented artists, writers, musicians and creators. RIG Arts changed my perspective on this, I now acknowledge that there are many exciting opportunities and creativity in my own home town.

Catherine MacPhail

-       https://www.thebookseller.com/news/prize-winning-scottish-author-cathy-macphail-dies-1278571

The first writer I want to discuss is Greenock born writer Catherine MacPhail, sadly she died a few years ago at the age of 75. I’ve chosen to talk about Cathy because she is a talented and wonderful woman – she has written over thirty books, most of which I thoroughly enjoyed reading as a young teen. Notably, Another Me (2003) -  one of my favourites -  was made into a film starring Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner in 2015. Cathy produced lots of amazing children’s books since her debut novel Run, Zan, Run (1994) and produced BBC Radio 2 program My Mammy and Me. Her efforts don’t end at writing, she was also an ambassador for the charity Children 1^st working with schools and libraries. Cathy cared not only for writing, but for others immensely.

            Until recently, I accredited my first literary love to Jacqueline Wilson and her stories of troubled teens with broken families. I preferred her novels, in comparison to the lighter and fluffier YA novels featuring cupcakes and romance. Jacqueline Wilson is a huge inspiration for me, but so is Cathy MacPhail. I devoured MacPhail’s books for teens: they were gritty, uncomfortable, supernatural and urban. Plus, the voice behind the writing was closer to home . I remember the novel Out of the Depths (2011) blowing my mind with the eyebrow raising opening: ‘I saw my teacher in the queue at the supermarket last Christmas. Miss Baxter. I was surprised to see her. She'd been dead for six months.’

            Cathy’s novels were a little bit darker, a lot of my writing is a little darker. Cathy’s legacy clearly had an impact on me, a true catalyst for my enjoyment of reading thrillers and urban realism. Now I am writing my own stories about the supernatural and the ‘outsider’ teenage girl set in Greenock. Cathy’s influence on the shape of my own stories is clear.

Alan Sharp

-https://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/23630360.author-hopes-put-alan-sharps-work-back-spotlight/

The next writer Alan Sharp I have chosen to discuss for different reasons to Cathy MacPhail, shamefully I only found out about Sharp’s writing a few months ago. During a placement supervision meeting, I discussed wanting to write a blog post on bringing different creative voices in Greenock to light. My supervisor responded asking, ‘Have you looked into Alan Sharp?’.

‘Who?’ I replied.

Shockingly, I hadn’t heard of him. He is both an interesting and influential literary figure. And he grew up in Greenock. He was the adopted son of a shipyard worker, who then went on to be a record-breaking Hollywood screenwriter before he passed away in 2013 aged 79. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard of him: an immensely successful writer from my local area should be common knowledge. I wanted to know a bit more about Sharp, so my supervisor advised that I contact David Manderson. Manderson, an expert on Sharp, published a critical biography The Anti-hero’s Journey: The Work and Life of Alan Sharp (2023). Contacting Manderson would be an excellent source to understand the writer. Before emailing, I did a little research on Alan Sharp myself by browsing literary reviews and articles. Sharp was a fascinating, and controversial literary figure in the Scottish landscape. Before turning his hand to screenplays, Sharp wrote the novel A Green Tree in Gedde (1965) focusing on a journey from West of Scotland, Midlands, Wales, London, Paris and Germany – this was banned in Scotland at the time due to its copious amount of sexual content. I am curious to buy the novel to see what the fuss is about.

Sharp went on to write well-received Western and detective screenplays in America – the most well-know being Ulzana’s Raid (1972) directed by Robert Aldrich. Most of his screenplays reflect aspects of American society – a very far away writing universe from the shipyards of Greenock.

            I wanted to ask David Manderson why Alan Sharp seems forgotten in the Scottish literary landscape. Very kindly, Manderson answered my questions with precision and immense knowledge on Sharp. Manderson writes to me that, ‘there probably was a resentment towards him in Scotland after he left.’ These words stand out to me, as Scots we often are envious and resentful if someone ‘gets’ out. We are all guilty of doing that. Again, interestingly Manderson adds that Sharp won the Scottish Arts Council Prize beating hind and McIlvanney – this caused a sense of resentment for Sharp in the literary community. I wonder if because Alan Sharp both in his writing and personal life writes about journeys beyond urban Scotland, mean that he isn’t regarded as a true ‘Scottish’ writer. Us Scots like to reflect on multiple repressions we feel; hopelessness, self-deprecation, drugs, drink and England. Anything else is branded inauthentic. I say this, with reference to the fact Irvine Welsh is the Scottish writer that most folk know. So he is THE Scottish voice, but Sharp, not so much so.

I asked what Manderson believes made Sharp leave Greenock, he writes that he thinks it was probably ‘this restlessness of his.’ It makes me glad that Sharp’s voice is regarded globally – he would have wanted that, but it would be nice if homage was paid to Sharp locally too. Looking at the influence of his writing also made me think a lot more about the funny way the Scottish writing voice seems a rather stagnant thing. There is a certain unwillingness to change.

My Gran

This writer is much closer to home: Patricia Gonet or my Gran. She passed away before I realised what an immensely talented and knowledge woman she was. She left a legacy: she loved English literature and was an excellent teacher to many. She was also a fantastic mother to her twelve children including her youngest Niki - my mum. She was great at lots of things like gardening, embroidering, learning languages, creating art and poetry. Later in life, she discovered her love for writing poems. She attended the Greenock Writers’ Club where her love for poetry grew and flourished. She wrote many about my Grandfather and his time as a Polish solider in Britain in WW2 - that’s how they met and fell in love. She wrote others about her house which was a novel in itself – full of visitors, stories, good food and noise. She wrote many thoughtful and intricate poems. They are beautiful. When she died, I was gifted a plastic wallet of paper copies of her writing. Years later, my Auntie Stella, a beyond thoughtful gift-giver and immensely considerate person, gifted me last year a hard-bound copy of my Gran’s poems.

The poems full of energy and thought are paired with drawings by my uncle Nick Farrell. The page below has a drawing of the Queen Bee, which feels very fitting when discussing my Gran. My Auntie made copies for other family members to remember and celebrate my Gran’s writing. It is one of the most thoughtful gifts I have been given and it shows how writers are not just best-sellers, award-winners or graduates – they are our mums, dads, grans, aunties, neighbours, colleagues. Sometimes, their stories are the best ones.