From The Adoption Papers to Fiere: Jackie Kay's Writing and Scottish Multiculturalism

Abstract

The essay discusses Jackie Kay’s writing in the context of her complex Scottish-Nigerian identity. Despite the marginalisation in terms of race, ethnic origin, sexuality which she describes in her texts, she has not only become a mainstream author but was also appointed as the Makar, the National Poet for Scotland in 2016. Thus the essay seeks to situate Kay in contemporary Scottish culture, which has moved to a high appreciation of voices coming from the margins. It focuses on the role that Kay has played in reinventing Scotland, a nation rapidly losing its recent homogeneity, where the peripheral has moved towards the centre. Furthermore, it examines the representations of ethnicity in Kay’s works and to explore the powerful theme of identity and difference in Scottish society refl ected in her work, demonstrating how the cultural identity represented in her writing involves being both inside and outside Scotland.