After the Dance: Selected Stories of Iain Crichton Smith

By Iain Crichton Smith and Alan Warner

Iain Crichton Smith was one of Scotland's most prolific, best-loved, and critically acclaimed writers, and this collection of stories proves that big themes—love, history, power, submission, death—can be addressed without the foil of irony and acquire resonance when given a local habitation and a voice that risks pure, humane, impassioned speech. As a child, Iain Crichton Smith was raised speaking Gaelic on the island of Lewis; at school in Stornoway he spoke English. Like many islanders before and since, his culture was divided: two languages, two histories entailing exile, a central theme of his stories in both tongues. His divided perspective delineated the tyranny of history and religion, of the cramped life of small communities, giving him a compassionate eye for the struggle of women and men in a world defined by denials.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Polygon
• Release date: Oct 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9780857903754

Iain Crichton Smith

Iain Crichton Smith (1928 – 1998) was born in Glasgow, brought up on Lewis, and attended university in Aberdeen. After working as a teacher in Clydebank and Dumbarton, he taught at the High School in Oban until he took early retirement in 1977. He was the recipient of many literary awards and received an OBE in 1980. His widow, Donalda, still lives in Taynuilt, where the couple moved after their marriage in 1977.