"One of the best Scottish writers of our time" offers "a fictional re-creation of the life and teachings of the 18th century Zen master Ekaku Hakuin" ( Scotsman).On the side of a mountain in eighteenth-century Japan sits a man in perfect stillness as the summit erupts, spitting fire and molten rock onto the land around him. The man is Hakuin. He will become the world's most famous teacher of Zen—and this is not the first time he has seen hell.In ...

Published to mark John Herdman's 80th birthday in 2021.Writers, academics, publishers and literary figures from Britain, Europe and North America came together to celebrate Scottish novelist and critic, John Herdman.The cast of Not Dark Yet are John Herdman's contemporaries and friends, his students and readers.This celebration of John Herdman is witness to the strength of admiration that exists for this Scottish writer's work, a body of writing that extends over a ...

The year is 1858. Thomas Glover is a gutsy eighteen-year-old who grasps the chance of escape to foreign lands and takes a posting as a trader in Japan. Within ten years he amasses a great fortune, learns the ways of the samurai, and, on the other side of the law, brings about the overthrow of the Shogun. Yet beneath Glover's astonishing success lies a man cut to the heart. His love affair with a courtesan - a woman who, unknown to him, would bear him the son for which he had always longed ...

*Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2024 Longlist*Lovers of Haiku, Zen and Japan will find this novel truly inspiring!An extraordinary man at a crucial time and place."In Mister Timeless Blyth, writer Alan Spence has created a fascinating (auto) biography, convincingly in R.H. Blyth's own voice. In it, he has conveyed the haiku scholar's love of music, eastern and western literature, Zen Buddhism, a...

A superb new collection of haiku and other short poetic forms on the theme of Glasgow - its people, landscape, culture. As always, Spence is uniquely illuminating, witty and delightful.Incorporating some of the poems which appeared decades ago in the much sought-after collection of the same title, Glasgow Zen includes mostly new material from this highly popular and exquisite poet.

A classic of short fiction, Alan Spence’s celebrated debut collection, first published in 1977, brings Glasgow to vibrant life and captures the spirit of the city as it teetered on the brink of change. From childhood Christmases in small tenement flats and games played on scrubland, to Orange Walks on bright Saturday afternoons and Thursday nights in dark, pulsing dancehalls, these interlinked stories vividly evoke the city and its inhabitants – young and old, Catholic and Protestant, hope...

Clear Light contains 150 haiku bursting with Alan Spence's characteristic verve and wit.Mythic and mesmerising, inspiring and hilarious, these poems shed clear light on the delights, hardships, breakthroughs and frustrations of the world of the momentary.Simple in form, these haiku request a fresh look at the familiar and leave us reeling at how much in the world, from the exotic to the everyday, we have yet to observe.

This is Spence's first book of poetry since Glasgow Zen. He evokes the essence of the seasons with this cycle of haiku.

A collection of three stories to mark the Leap Year by Laura Marney, Ruth Thomas and Alan Spence.The Leap Year Tales are:'Aw Wrong' by Laura MarneyFacing the imminent birth of their first child, a couple take steps to try to influence the course of nature.Read by Gabriel Quigley.'February Alone' by Ruth ThomasAn intended romantic lunch goes strangely awry. Will a gift of lingerie help save the hour?Read b...

The Scottish language is rich in proverbs, sayings, maxims and wise aphorisms. Sadly, in the transition from the abacus to the computer, most of these have become outdated. This great little gift book thrusts these expressions into the 21st century providing millennia of wisdom in a practical modern format. It covers everything from bagpipes to whisky with a few mentions of our dear neighbours, the Sassenachs, thrown in. So whether you are Scottish, a tourist visiting Scotland, an illegal ...

"Haunting, with an immense tenderness . . . Unforgettable" JOHN BERGER"Profoundly moving" Evening Standard"A brilliant and moving first novel" Times Literary Supplement"I'm recommending When Memory Dies to everyone" Arthur C. ClarkeThe Buddha taught that to live is to experience suffering. Few family sagas, especially first ones, have captured this aspect of suffering...

Enter the world of seventeenth-century Japanese warfare and the warrior elite, the Samurai. Samurai War Stories: Teachings and Tales of Samurai Warfare is a collection of three major texts, published in an English translation for the first time. These works include writings on three distinct military strata: the Samurai; the Ashigaru or foot soldier; and women in war. Including guidelines, tactics, commentaries and advice written by Samurai of the period, as well ...