The Whittrick Play of No Nothing: Alan Spence, Edwin Morgan, and Indra’s Net

• Authors: Monika Kocot
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The article will attempt a reading of Alan Spence’s play No Nothing (2015). Special attention will be given to the issue of literal and metaphorical space(s), a peculiar, liminal setting of the play, and the ways it determines the flyting between the two characters, two iconic Glaswegians: Edwin Morgan and Jimmy Reid. It seems that in this theatrical space history, politics and poetry inter-are. We may notice how two completely different masters of speech (a poet and a trade union leader) exchange their views on life, how they reflect upon the meaning of their achievements, and how they find a space of convergence in their affirmation of life. As their flyting is “about life, the Universe and everything-from Glasgow to Infinity and beyond,” the article will also address the space of dialogue between Spence’s and Morgan’s poetry. The metaphor of Indra’s net will serve as a useful tool in exploring spatial dimensions of the play and the issue of interconnectedness.

Keywords

EN

Alan Spence; Edwin Morgan; dialogicality; trickster play; Indra’s net

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Łódzki. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
• Journal: Text Matters: A Journal of Literature, Theory and Culture
• Year: 2018
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 189-211

Dates

published

2018-11-23

Contributors

author

Monika Kocot

• University of Łódź

References

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Identifiers

DOI

10.1515/texmat-2018-0012