Overview
Jackie Kay: Critical Essays offers the first full-length critical study of Jackie Kay’s work. It brings together a range of essays by international scholars to examine a writer who has expanded the scope of British literature. Kay’s powerful, trailblazing writings include plays, poetry, long-form fiction, short stories, children’s literature, biography, autobiography and more. She was the Scots Makar (the national poet) from 2016 to 2021 and has won or been shortlisted for over 20 literary awards and prizes. This collection addresses the full range of Kay’s writing, from her earliest poetry and fiction of the 1980s through to her most recent publications, including her lesser-examined works such as her dramas and her writing for children. Significant themes and concerns, including race, national identity, family and life writing, gender and sexuality, are all examined in new critical essays that greatly expand understanding of Kay’s canon. The contributors show that Kay’s work is remarkable for its range of genres, its consistent reinvention of forms, and its marriage of intimate, domestic depictions of individual lives with broad political and philosophical themes. This book is aimed at students and scholars of contemporary British fiction, Black British literature, Scottish literature, and contemporary women’s writing.
Full Product Details
Author: Tasha Alden ,
Fiona Tolan
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint: Routledge
ISBN: 9781032757285
ISBN 10: 1032757280
Pages: 154
Publication Date: 08 April 2026
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Availability: Not yet available
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.
Reviews
A fantastic new resource on the crucial work of Scottish poet Jackie Kay, XXX breaks boundaries by being the first book-length study of her writing. A rich array of ten essays explores the whole spectrum of Kay’s work, including her drama and writing for children, and extends all the way to her 2024 collection May Day. Jackie Kay emerges from these pages as among the most significant British writers of our time—always most in earnest and moving when most witty and dry. Her work affirms a deep sense of connectedness to these islands: ‘My country’, she observes, ‘has started to speak my language / And I am no longer alone’. - Elleke Boehmer FRSL FRHistS, Professor of World literature in English, University of Oxford A book that stays true to the generous spirit that is Jackie Kay, this collection illuminates the richness and range of her work. By situating her writing in different critical and theoretical contexts, it makes clear the political and artistic significance it has acquired over many years. Each of the essays offers a thoughtful perspective on an aspect of her career and the impact of this wonderful writer shines through them all. - Glenda Norquay, Professor Emerita Scottish Literary Studies
Author Information
Tasha Alden is Senior Lecturer in Contemporary British Fiction at Aberystwyth University, UK. She has written on a range of twentieth- and twenty-first-century writers, and her research interests include medical humanities, ethics and empathy, the historical novel, literature and theology, and queer writing. Fiona Tolan is Reader in Contemporary Women’s Writing at Liverpool John Moores University, UK. She is author of The Fiction of Margaret Atwood (2023) and co-editor of The Routledge Companion to Literature and Feminism (with Rachel Carroll; 2024).
