Henry Bell (born 1989) is a writer and editor based in Glasgow. He is chiefly known for his poetry, [1] his non-fiction writing on socialist history, [2] and as editor of Gutter Magazine. [3]
Henry Bell (born 1989) is a writer and editor based in Glasgow. He is chiefly known for his poetry, [1] his non-fiction writing on socialist history, [2] and as editor of Gutter Magazine. [3]
Bell was born in Bristol in 1989, he settled in Scotland in 2008.
While at the University of Glasgow in 2011 Bell began working with Liz Lochhead, William Letford and Lorna MacBean on a project to bring Palestinian poets to Scotland and Scottish poets to Palestine. [4] The readings in both countries resulted in the multilingual collection A Bird is Not a Stone (2014), edited by Henry Bell and Sarah Irving, it was the first anthology of Palestinian poetry in English.
Since 2014 Bell has been a member of the workers cooperative that produces Gutter Magazine, Scotland's magazine of new writing. [5]
Work for theatre has included Between The Speech Bubble and the Thinks Balloon, performed at the Oran Mor in 2014 [6] and Lifted, with his co-writer Sara Shaarawi, which appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2015 and 2016. [7] Other projects include a Cairene adaptation of Alasdair Gray's 1982, Janine with Sara Shaarawi. The play Haneen had a rehearsed reading in Egypt. [8]
As a producer Bell is known for his work with festivals and events including Fail Better, Solas, and Chill Habibi, a nightly cabaret at Arab Arts Focus, [9] the largest Arab Arts Festival to come to the Edinburgh Fringe. [10] He is a founder member of The Workers Theatre, [11] and produced Megaphone, a crowdfunded residency for artists of colour in Scotland. [12]
In 2017 Bell, was ranked 43rd in The List Hot 100 cultural Scots.
His biography of the communist organiser John Maclean: Hero of Red Clydeside was published by Pluto Press in 2018 and was widely praised in the national press. [13] [14] Jackie Kay, the Scots Makar, described it as a 'beautifully structured and brilliantly written biography... Henry Bell's moving, evocative portrait of the complex man and his times is compelling and timely. It tells not just the story of the radical hero from the red Clyde, but a story of Scotland’ [15]
Bell is the recipient of a New Writers Award from the Scottish Book Trust, [16] and was artist in residence with Glasgow City Council in 2019.
His debut poetry pamphlet The Last Lochan was published by Speculative Books in 2020. A follow up, The Inner Circle, came out with Stewed Rhubarb in 2022. [17]
He is currently working on a history of the red flag.
Bell lives in Glasgow, Scotland. [18] He is on the founding committee of the Red Sunday School. [19]
John Maclean was a Scottish schoolteacher and revolutionary socialist of the Red Clydeside era.
William Gallacher was a Scottish trade unionist, activist and communist. He was one of the leading figures of the Shop Stewards' Movement in wartime Glasgow and a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. He served two terms in the House of Commons as the last Communist Member of Parliament (MP).
Red Clydeside was the era of political radicalism in Glasgow, Scotland, and areas around the city, on the banks of the River Clyde, such as Clydebank, Greenock, Dumbarton and Paisley, from the 1910s until the early 1930s. Red Clydeside is a significant part of the history of the labour movement in Britain as a whole, and Scotland in particular.
Hamish Scott Henderson was a Scottish poet, songwriter, communist, intellectual and soldier.
Arthur MacManus (1889–1927) was a Scottish trade unionist and communist politician.
This article deals with the history of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. See also Timeline of Glasgow history.
Sandra Alland is a Glasgow-based Scottish-Canadian writer, interdisciplinary artist, small press publisher, performer, filmmaker, and curator. Alland's work focuses on social justice, language, humour, and experimental forms.
The Clyde Workers Committee was formed to campaign against the Munitions Act. It was originally called the Labour Withholding Committee. The leader of the CWC was Willie Gallacher, who was jailed under the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 together with John Muir for an article in the CWC journal The Worker criticising the First World War.
The Industrial Workers of Great Britain was a group which promoted industrial unionism in the early 20th century.
Events from the year 1923 in Scotland.
Events from the year 1854 in Scotland.
Forward was a socialist newspaper published in Scotland from 1906.
Gutter is a biannual periodical published in Scotland. The magazine was founded in 2009 and is independently published in Glasgow. The magazine is cooperatively owned and run by its workers.
Sara Shaarawi is an Egyptian playwright and producer. She is chiefly known for her work in Scottish Theatre.
Red Skirts on Clydeside, produced in 1984, is the fifth documentary film made by the Sheffield Film Cooperative. It follows the process of rediscovering women's histories, focusing on the Glasgow Rent Strikes of 1915 and four of the women involved: Helen Crawfurd, Agnes Dollan, Mary Barbour, Jean Fergusson.
John Laing Kinloch was a Scottish nationalist politician.
The John MacLean March is a Scottish song written by Hamish Henderson in 1948. It eulogises the socialist organiser John Maclean, describing his funeral procession through Glasgow in 1923.
The Margaret Tait Award is a moving image prize for artists living and working in Scotland. It is named after the Orcadian filmmaker and writer Margaret Tait (1918–99). Recipients of the award have included Alberta Whittle, Charlotte Prodger, Rachel Maclean and Torsten Lauschmann.
Hannah Lavery is a Scottish short story writer, poet, playwright and performer. Her poetry and prose has been published by Gutter Magazine, The Scotsman newspaper, 404 Ink, and others.
Bryan M. Ferguson is a Scottish filmmaker and music video director, best known for his music videos for artists such as Alice Glass, Ladytron, Arab Strap, Boy Harsher and Sega Bodega.