movement influenced birth_place notableworks name birth_date genre image article_title birth_name occupation
postmodern literature anthony al kennedy burgess , iain banks , will self , glasgow , scotland '' '' 1982 , janine '' '' poor things '' '' lanark the book of prefaces '' : a life in four books '' alasdair gray 28 december 1934 science fiction , dystopianism , surrealism , realism alasdair gray -lrb- 1994 -rrb- by guenter prust.jpg alasdair gray
 alasdair gray novelist , poet , artist , playwright , academic , teacher
alasdair gray

alasdair gray -lrb- born 28 december 1934 -rrb- is a scottish writer and artist .
his most acclaimed work is his first novel , `` lanark '' , published in 1981 and written over a period of almost 30 years .
it is now regarded as a classic , and was described by `` the guardian '' as `` one of the landmarks of 20th-century fiction . ''
his novel `` poor things '' -lrb- 1992 -rrb- won the whitbread novel award and the guardian fiction prize .
he describes himself as a civic nationalist -lrb- albeit one deeply critical of english immigration into scotland -rrb- and a republican .
gray 's works combine elements of realism , fantasy , and science fiction , plus clever use of typography and his own illustrations .
he has also written on politics , in support of socialism and scottish independence , and on the history of english literature .
he has been described by author will self as `` a creative polymath with an integrated politico-philosophic vision '' , and as `` a great writer , perhaps the greatest living in this archipelago today '' and by himself as `` a fat , spectacled , balding , increasingly old glasgow pedestrian '' .
