''The Drouth'' is an American-format quarterly periodical published in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. It was founded in 2001 by Mitchell Miller and Johnny Rodger. Although its title is Scots (Eng: ''The Thirst''), the magazine is published mostly in Scottish Standard English, with features and fiction regularly appearing in languages such as

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, Broad Scots and

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

. ''The Drouth'' is unusual for a Scottish literary magazine in that it only infrequently publishes poetry, arguing that as poetry covers a good portion of other magazines' content, its efforts are better focused on other art-forms less well represented in Scotland's "small mags". The magazine works on a commissioning basis, and does not encourage unsolicited submissions. It has a particular focus on literature, film and politics but also covers

visual art The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is emplo ...

and

comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

, as well as giving generous space to creative

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a tradi ...

. The magazine sponsors a number of cultural events, mostly in Glasgow. Every issue also features a guest editor (usually someone of distinction in a given field) and guest cover artist.

Editorial stance

''The Drouth''s editorial stance could be described as non-aligned left with occasional anarchistic and libertarian overtones as shown by its ties to radical online publications such as Pulse and Spinwatch, and with the author

James Kelman James Kelman (born 9 June 1946) is a Scottish novelist, short story writer, playwright and essayist. His novel '' A Disaffection'' was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 1989. Kelman won ...

. Nevertheless, it also publishes work by more establishment figures on the left and right of the political spectrum, and editorial board members such as

Owen Dudley Edwards Owen Dudley Edwards (born 27 March 1938) is an Irish historian and former Reader in Commonwealth and American History at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He is the son of Professor Robert Dudley Edwards and brother to the Irish writer, ...

retain links to the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from th ...

and

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

. The magazine is a frequent critic of the

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak of ...

but maintains it follows no party alignment and is uncommitted on the issue of Scottish independence. In general, the magazine has taken an aggressively non-institutional stance and has found common cause with magazines such as Variant, though it retains an independent approach on political issues and does not maintain formal links with major organisations and institutions. Its editorial board is nevertheless, drawn from a mainly institutional background across the two major Scottish cities and currently consists of: *David Archibald, Lecturer, Dept of Film Theatre and Television The University of Glasgow (2006–present) *Gerard Carruthers, Head of Dept of Scottish Literature, The University of Glasgow (2001–present) *Steve Davismoon, Composer and lecturer at

Napier University , mottoeng = Without knowledge, everything is in vain , established = 1992 – granted University status 1964 – Napier Technical College , type = Public , academic_staff = 802 , administrative_staff = 562 , chancellor = Will Whitehorn , ...

, Edinburgh (2003–present) *Owen Dudley Edwards, Reader in History, The University of Edinburgh (2001–present) *Dorian Grieve, Editor and Researcher in Linguistics, University of Glasgow (2004–present) *Simon Kovesi, Head of English and Modern Languages,

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The university was named ...

(2009–present) *Emily Munro, Head of Learning,

Glasgow Film Theatre The Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) is an independent cinema in the city centre of Glasgow. GFT is a registered charity. It occupies a purpose-built cinema building, first opened in 1939, and now protected as a category B listed building. History ...

(2008–present) *Ruaridh Nicoll, Journalist and novelist (2004–present) *Miriam Ross, Researcher in film and related studies (also web editor) (2010) *Elke Weissmann, Lecturer, Liverpool Edgehill University Editorial board members primarily offer advice, but can also commission work, initiate ideas for issues and get involved in production. Several editorial board members were initially guest editors who joined the permanent staff.

Guest editors

Since issue 6, a guest editor has been invited to contribute editorial essays and advice. There has been no guest editor for issues 9, 25 and 33, and the lineup has included pseudonymous and spoof entries. The full list is as follows; *Issue 6: "Fact", Frank Kuppner, novelist *Issue 7: "Complexity", Edwin Morgan, poet *Issue 8: "Panegyric", Jenni Calder, writer *Issue 10: "Word" *Issue 11: "Monument", Miles Glendinning, architectural critic *Issue 12: "Bigotry", Gowan Calder, actress *Issue 13: "Intelligence",

Christopher Harvie Professor Christopher Harvie (born 21 September 1944, Motherwell) is a Scottish historian and a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Mid Scotland and Fife from 2007 to 2011. Before his e ...

, writer and academic *Issue 14: "Land", Ruaridh Nicoll, journalist and novelist *Issue 15: "Consensus and Revision", Sarah Dunnigan, expert on ballads *Issue 16: "Didactic", Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, media analyst *Issue 17: "Form", Elke Weissmann, cultural critic and researcher in television studies *Issue 18: "Class", Willy Maley, writer and academic *Issue 19: "Dialect", Carol Baranuik, expert on

Ullans Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (', ga, Albainis Uladh), also known as Ulster Scotch and Ullans, is the dialect of Scots spoken in parts of Ulster in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.Gregg, R. J. (1972) "The Scotch-Irish Dialect Bo ...

(Ulster Scots) *Issue 20: "Image", John Calcutt, Lecturer at Glasgow School of art *Issue 21: "Document", Jonathan Murray, expert on Scottish cinema and history *Issue 22: "Utopia", Sheila Dickson, academic and translator *Issue 23: "Deviant", Mark Cousins, critic and filmmaker *Issue 24: "Skin", Craig Richardson, artist and academic *Issue 26: "Collect", Rosemary Goring, Arts Editor, ''The Herald'' *Issue 27: "Pure", Emily Munro, writer and film programmer *Issue 28: "Establishment", Molly Maguire, poet *Issue 29: "Union", Ian S. Wood, historian *Issue 30: "Public", Ashley Shelby Benites, author *Issue 31: "Rhetoric", John Knox, reformer *Issue 32: "Moral", Jen Birks, media analyst *Issue 34: "Lost", Rhona Brown, writer and academic *Issue 35: "Process", Simon Kovesi, critic and academic

Guest artists

Since issue 14, guest artists from fine art, illustration, photography and even film, have been invited to provide covers to each issue - *Issue 14: "Land",

David Shrigley David John Shrigley (born 17 September 1968) is a British visual artist. He lived and worked in Glasgow, Scotland for 27 years before moving to Brighton, England in 2015. Early life and education Shrigley was born 17 September 1968 in Maccles ...

, installation *Issue 15: "Consensus and Revision", Margaret Tait, experimental film *Issue 16: "Didactic", Andreas Kaiser, installation *Issue 17: "Form",

Toby Paterson Toby is a popular, usually male, name in many English speaking countries. The name is from the Middle English vernacular form of Tobias. Tobias itself is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew טוביה ''Toviah'', which translates to ''Good ...

, painting *Issue 18: "Class",

Ken Currie Ken Currie (born 1960 in North Shields, Northumberland, England) is a Scottish artist and a graduate of Glasgow School of Art (1978–1983). Ken grew up in industrial Glasgow. This has had a significant influence on his early works. In the 198 ...

, painting *Issue 19: "Dialect", Mark Neville, photography/performance *Issue 20: "Image",

Alasdair Gray Alasdair James Gray (28 December 1934 – 29 December 2019) was a Scottish writer and artist. His first novel, ''Lanark: A Life in Four Books, Lanark'' (1981), is seen as a landmark of Scottish fiction. He published novels, short stories, plays ...

, illustration *Issue 21: "Document", Aaron Valdez, experimental film *Issue 22: "Utopia", Stephan Klenner Otto, illustration *Issue 23: "Deviant", Louise Galea, photography. *Issue 24: "Skin", Craig Richardson, installation *Issue 25: "Epic/Lyric", Euan Sutherland, illustration *Issue 26: "Collect", Andrew Lee, photography *Issue 27: "Pure", John Kay, illustration *Issue 28: "Establishment', Stuart Murray, illustration *Issue 29: "Union", Steve Ovett Effect, performance/illustration *Issue 30: "Public", Bill Breckinridge, photography *Issue 31: "Rhetoric", Alexandra Demenkova, documentary photography *Issue 32: "Moral", Stephen Healy, photography *Issue 33: "Solution", Chris Dooks, photography *Issue 34: "Lost", Ian McCulloch, painting *Issue 35: "Process", Roddy Buchanan, photography

Books and related media

''The Drouth'' has recently published two books based partly on essays and features that first appeared in its pages; in 2009 it published ''Fickle Man: Robert Burns in the 21st Century'' (Sandstone Press) and in 2010, ''Tartan Pimps: Gordon Brown, Margaret Thatcher & the New Scotland'' (Argyll Publishing).

Notable contributors

Angus Calder Angus Lindsay Ritchie Calder (5 February 1942 – 5 June 2008) was a Scottish writer, historian, and poet. Initially studying English literature, he became increasingly interested in political history and wrote a landmark study on Britain during t ...

*Gowan Calder * Jenni Calder *

Eddie Campbell Eddie Campbell (born 10 August 1955) is a British comics artist and cartoonist who now lives in Chicago. Probably best known as the illustrator and publisher of ''From Hell'' (written by Alan Moore), Campbell is also the creator of the semi-au ...

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...

Jem Cohen Jem Alan Cohen (born 1962) is an Afghan-born American filmmaker based in New York City. Cohen is especially known for his observational portraits of urban landscapes, blending of media formats ( sixteen-millimetre, Super 8, videotape) and coll ...

*Stephen Davismoon *

*Roberto Fabbriciani *John Gray *Dorian Grieve *Murray Grigor *Sileas na Keppoch *Simon Kovesi *Frank Kuppner *Carl MacDougall *Donald MacLeod * Edwin Morgan *Jonny Murray * Ruaridh Nicoll *

Andrew O'Hagan Andrew O'Hagan (born 1968) is a Scottish novelist and non-fiction author. Three of his novels have been nominated for the Booker Prize and he has won several awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Award. His most recent novel is ''Mayf ...

*Paul O’Keeffe *Juana Ponce de Leon *Jake Mahaffy *

George Monbiot George Joshua Richard Monbiot ( ; born 27 January 1963) is a British writer known for his environmental and political activism. He writes a regular column for ''The Guardian'' and is the author of a number of books. Monbiot grew up in Oxfordsh ...

*Ashley Shelby *David Stenhouse *Sherien Sultan

External links