Peter Kravitz is a figure in the Scottish literary scene. He was born in London, England, but has lived most of his life in Edinburgh. He is Jewish. He has edited ''

Edinburgh Review The ''Edinburgh Review'' is the title of four distinct intellectual and cultural magazines. The best known, longest-lasting, and most influential of the four was the third, which was published regularly from 1802 to 1929. ''Edinburgh Review'', ...

'', ''Contemporary Scottish Fiction'', reprinted by

Picador A ''picador'' (; pl. ''picadores'') is one of the pair of horse-mounted bullfighters in a Spanish-style bullfight that jab the bull with a lance. They perform in the ''tercio de varas'', which is the first of the three stages in a stylized bull ...

and

Faber Faber may refer to: People * Faber (surname) Companies * Faber & Faber, publishing house in the United Kingdom * Faber-Castell, German manufacturer of writing instruments * Faber Music, British sheet music publisher * Eberhard Faber, German ...

, and brought new

Scottish writers This list of Scottish writers is an incomplete alphabetical list of Scottish writers who have a Wikipedia page. Those on the list were born and/or brought up in Scotland. They include writers of all genres, writing in English, Scots language, Lowl ...

to a wider audience. From 1980 to 1990 during Kravitz's term as editor,

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

, the former

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

student imprint, came to lead the field in publishing new

Scottish fiction Scottish literature is literature written in Scotland or by Scottish writers. It includes works in English, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Brythonic, French, Latin, Norn or other languages written within the modern boundaries of Scotland. The e ...

. His editorship of the

from 1984 to 1990 supplied fresh talent. He was influential in developing discussion between people in literature, politics and the visual arts, in Scotland and beyond. While at Polygon, he tried to publish

James Kelman James Kelman (born 9 June 1946) is a Scottish novelist, short story writer, playwright and essayist. His fiction and short stories feature accounts of internal mental processes of usually, but not exclusively, working class narrators and their ...

's second novel, and requested a grant from the

Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council (), was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from the Scottish Government as well as National Lottery funds ...

. They refused because Alick Buchanan-Smith, a Conservative MP, had complained about the "foul language" in Kelman's first novel. In the late 1990s, he worked for

Napier University Edinburgh Napier University () is a public university in Edinburgh, Scotland. Napier Technical College, the predecessor of the university, was founded in 1964, taking its name from 16th-century Scottish mathematician and philosopher John Napie ...

, and he is now a

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

and counsellor in Edinburgh. He still writes occasionally on Scottish literature.

External links

Galloway archive: Guest essays
20th-century Scottish Jews Academics of Edinburgh Napier University Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Scottish people of English descent Writers from Edinburgh Scottish literary critics Scottish magazine editors 20th-century English male writers Jewish British writers 20th-century Scottish male writers 20th-century Scottish writers 20th-century English writers 20th-century English Jews {{Scotland-bio-stub