That's it for today!
Thanks very much for all your questions, and to Irvine for joining us and brilliantly answering as many as he could. Cheers!
Esdaile asks:
Hi Irvine
Every school I went to has been demolished, Craigmuir, Craigroyston, and Ainslie Park. Though Craigroyston to be fair, has been reborn in a different location. Do you think Cameron, Millibandy, or their pals could make such a claim? My real question is on disappointment, in that do you feel disappointed for how it’s all turned out? During the 60s and 70s in amongst all the crap there was at least a sense of optimism, a glimmer of things getting better, of our society becoming a bit more equal. Around 1975 ish, in my early 20s as a lad from Pilton I sipped sherry one Xmas or some such with admiral Denning, or his brother the Lord one, who had a dose of the horrors when he discovered I was a prol. But at least I got in past the front door. Q. Is it all now stitched up to prevent prols from ever sherry sipping with Lords and Admirals?
Guardian contributor It is. It has gone back to a kind of Victorian type of society, and it's almost like all the advances after the second world war, all the social advances, have been eradicated. We've gone back to a very elitist ideology, and it's disappointing. Everything's also a reaction though: the new narrative of our time is the new nation state, self-sufficient, eco-friendly, socially progressive. And that's what's going to facilitate real change: not bureaucracies like the EU, not corrupt elitist parliaments like Westminster.
"Modern fiction needs more democracy, more voices, more of the big human issues that affect people – and more shagging"
bellyofcassano asks:
Do you have any theories on why so much modern fiction is so mediocre?
Guardian contributor There needs to be more democracy, more voices - it can't just be the same middle class obsessions. More edgy, more dramatic, more of the big human issues that affect people, which are often economic or social issues. And more shagging.
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On Labour: "I don't think there's anything to go back to. The party I grew up with is long dead"
ThirdFrock says:
I was moved by your description of how you made the journey from Labour “No” to a “Yes” vote in the referendum. As an English incomer – here for ~12 years – and also profoundly disillusioned with Labour I had recently made a very similar journey.
I would like to know whether – like me – you are struggling to return to “Labour” for the general election and whether they will attract your vote (quite understand that you might not want to indicate who you’ll be voting for).
Guardian contributor I don't think there's anything to go back to with Labour. The party I grew up with is long dead. I've accepted that over a period of time. What to support next is the issue: I would support SNP at a Westminster election, but Green or SSP in Scottish parliamentary elections, because I don't think it's good to have a monolithic one party state evolving, even for a single-issue party.
belfastismymojo asks:
Using social media as a platform by Big Publishing Houses, I’ve noticed a lot of pretty young things who have books coming out and blogs etc, but what about literary fiction, good prose, as it is not really “marketable”? What would you advise an unknown writer to go with their work? Self-publishing? I’ve recently done that myself. Also, what about a novel about Mikey Forrester and a big Drug Deal in say Latin America? There’s an idea for you. Thanks, Neil
Guardian contributor Thanks for the Mikey Forrester idea!
I think it's very tough for young writers because even if a publisher takes them on, they've basically got two books to hit the big time before they're forgotten about. They don't get the marketing muscle for a first book - they're expected to do it over social media and word of mouth. When I started out, we were really looked after: myself, Alan Warner, John King, we were at Cape at the same time, we were looked after in a way that young writers aren't nowadays. It's about immediate numbers, rather than building a long-term presence for the writer.
rrstar asks:
Irvine – looking forward to your chat at the Bloomsbery tonight
Pints and pills after?
Guardian contributor Probably not, because I'm straight up to Manchester as soon as it's over. Maybe that'll eat up the train journey...
BigChap asks:
Do you think they’ll ever be a decent film made about football casuals? I went through a spell in my early to mid twenties reading all the books and none of them really match up to what it’s all about, football factory a bit.
I ran with Hibs from 14 to 30 by the way.
Guardian contributor It's a hard one to do. Because as you know there's so many different aspects to that whole movement, fashion and music and camaraderie and local pride as well as actual violence, but you have to focus on the buzz of the violence. It becomes like any other adrenaline based movie: they have a great time and go in too far, and it becomes a cautionary tale. There's only one thing it can really be. I think The Football Factory is about the best, but there's been nothing absolutely definitive yet.
rrstar says:
Read your comments on Twtter following Andy Murray in the US open 3 years ago
Very funny and real
I’m a massive Andy Murray fan and i think its good that you’ve got behind a weedgie – aside from yourself – Edinburgh has a low quotient of producing stars – (unlike us weedges)
Guardian contributor Yeah Andy Murray was apparently born in a Glasgow hospital, but grew up in central Scotland in Dunblane. I enjoy doing the tennis commentaries, but I've become pals with Judy Murray, so I have to remember that's her son I'm speaking about.
crowinthesnow asks:
Hi Irvine,
I remember you dedicated one of your books to my next door neighbour (from The Inch) Big Crawf.
Are you still in touch with old friends before you became minted and a respected writer?
GGTTH.
Guardian contributor Yeah. Can't get rid of the bastards. I had a party the other night at the Hibs function suite, and it was a free bar, so they were all out in force. But yeah, I'm in touch. My main friends are my oldest friends I've had since childhood in some cases, and my teens.
Far Out asks:
Hi Irvine,
Many of your books, especially Trainspotting, seem to be about the vulnerability of youth, hiding behind a lot of bravado. Do you think that young people’s lives have changed, in the past 20 years?
Guardian contributor It's got really bad for young people in the last 20 years. There seems to be nothing for low-paid people, there's job insecurity, a lifetime of debt, little opportunity to get a decent education, living with your parents until you're nearly middle aged... if you're a kid, corporate fascism uses you as a tool to get to your parents' savings. It's bleak. Youth always have fun, it's always better being young than old, no question - but my generation have let down young people by not creating the inclusive, democratic, transparent society with genuine opportunities. All the promise of hippies and punks and acid house, it's never delivered on a political basis because the entrenched elites have been too strong and outmanoeuvred us. My generation lost the class war, and the youth are paying the price for that.
boooky asks:
How does it feel to see your works make it on the screen? I find your books so visual and visceral anyway that it is amazing to see the words made flesh (as it were) – have you ever been disappointed?
Guardian contributor I don't think you can be disappointed if your book gets made into a film - if it's bad, you say they fucked up your book, if it's great, you can say it wouldn't have happened without your book. It's win-win.
You always have to remember the book is still going to be there, whatever happens to the film.
Al Cumming asks:
Hi IW,
What’s your writing method from an ergonomic point of view? Do you sit at a desk, lie on a sofa, write in bed, or can the words flow wherever you are?
Guardian contributor Because I write mainly on a laptop, or a manuscript printed from one, I can write pretty much anywhere. I write on public transit, coffee shops, but when I need quiet time to put everything together, I have to go to my work room, sit at a big desk, and go for it. Both really, I suppose.
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cambridgefergal asks:
Do you think Scotland will be an independent country in your lifetime?
Guardian contributor I don't know. I'm cagey not because I doubt it'll be independent sometime, it's more in terms of being cagey about my own lifetime... who knows how long that'll be, it's impossible to say. I'm at the age now where I could drop down dead tomorrow, or live for years and years. I think it's inevitable that there's going to be some major transformation, and I can't see any future in the UK in its current form. It's about the inevitable breakup of the UK, rather than the independence of Scotland.
spaknapak asks:
Was Alexander Trocchi an influence on your work (particularly the “heroin”-era novels)?
Guardian contributor In some ways, I think because I was writing against the sort of trust fund middle class junkies like Trocchi and Burroughs - drugs had become a lot more democratic, before it had been the preserve of the idle rich. Or in voluntary poverty. They were inspirational, but not in the obvious way.
LordJimbo asks:
How did you feel like when you knew you’d be successful as a writer and how has that played out in terms of your life?
Guardian contributor You don't really think about it, because it tends to happen incrementally. You get an acknowledgement first, and then some decent money coming in, then a bit of fame, and then bigger money and along the way that process usually takes about three or four years from your big successful book. And then it becomes something that you do. It creeps up on you. It seems to be overnight, but it doesn't feel that way - things change very slowly in your life over a five year period.
Alex Millen asks:
Some of your novels have been adapted very successfully into films. Do you think there is something essentially filmic/episodic in the way that you write?
Guardian contributor There's two things I do. I like to draw the characters in detail, I like the action to keep moving, so there's something inherently cinematic in that. You're kind of halfway there. That's why it's been successful.
glasgow970 asks:
What do you think of the translations of your work? Do you have any visibility on that?
Guardian contributor Some of the translators will ask me what certain words and phrases mean. I've not got a great facility with languages, and you have to be pretty fluent to know if they're accurate - you take it on trust. But I've been very lucky with translators, particularly in Italy and Germany, who are very good.
"Just about all my characters would make good right wing politicians!"
TheYear4040 asks:
From the intro above, “spoken in the thick brogue of Glasgow’s council estates”. Ahem Edinburgh’s council estates.
Which characters from your books would make the best left/right wing politicians?
Guardian contributor I can't think of any of them who'd make good left wing ones; jsut about all would make good right wing ones! Maybe Carol Ewart would be a good left wing politician. Maybe Alison from Trainspotting too. I don't know if Lucy Brennan is a Republican or a Democrat. Bruce Robertson would be a great Fuhrer, the first great Fuhrer of an independent Scotland.
ashinbristol asks:
You have talked in the past of being a big house music fan, do you still get out to clubs much (especially since you have been living in the home of House music, Chicago)? If so, what artists are you into at present, and do you have any thoughts on the proliferation of pop house shite that’s in abundance at the moment? What would N-SIGN be playing now?! Many thanks x
Guardian contributor I don't get out to clubs so much, but will for a special occasion. I tend to have people home and back to mine, so I can sit down more. I will listen to anything - there has been a huge EDM splash in America, and there's a thing now that every kind of hit has a house version, every basic R&B song or rock'n'roll song, and vice versa. If you see some of the big DJs playing in Vegas, they're playing pop hits for frat boys and hen nights, people who aren't really into dance music. But they'll play an afterparty for the house aficionados. I think N-Sign would be doing a lot of Chicago guys - DJ Sneak, Felix Da Housecat, the contemporary ones. But would drop Frankie Knuckles occasionally as well.
ID9260470 asks:
Novels often get adapted into screenplays, but have you ever considered the idea of adapting an original screenplay into a novel? I thought about this as an original concept yesterday.
(If so, can you adapt mine?)
Guardian contributor This doesn't happen so much now, but happened a lot in the 90s when you could crossmarket everything. I know John Hodge novelised A Life Less Ordinary after he wrote the screenplay, and I think it still does happen, the big blockbusters will go back into graphic novels. If you want to write something as a novel, you write it as a novel first - you fill in all the details. For the screen, you're adapting it to the bare bones of its structure.
wlee49 says:
I’ve an idea an idea for a book set in the Highlands, two main characters are a Shetland Pony and a burger van attendant. Can’t decide to on a kids book where the pony is a bit like Skippy (the bush kangaroo) or whether to go down the sex and violence adult route. What do you think.
Guardian contributor Sex and violence adult route. A Shetland pony and a burger van attendant are all the perfect ingredients.
VoiceOverIP asks:
Are you in favour of the death penalty?
Guardian contributor No. Because the justice system isn't infallible. More importantly, because it's a weak cop out for serious crimes like murder and rape. People should be incarcerated forever in shit conditions for those crimes, and face what they've done; death is the easy option.
blackieconnors83 asks:
Juice Terry the peoples favourite Aerated Water Salesman is back!!
Irvine I am a massive fan and have read all your work. Glue is my absolute favourite book of yours, it’s as funny and beautifully written as your others but with so much heart, it really touched me. The scene where his mother is having a nervous breakdown while Terry is up in his bedroom made me laugh so hard that everyone on the bus I was on looked at me like a fucking lunatic! So genuinely cannot wait to get the new one.
My question is this, being the grandmaster of the dark first person narrative does it annoy you when people assume you are some kind of dark psycho yourself? That somehow people think you channel yourself onto the page? Seems to me when I talk to people about your work they say something like “that man has a dark mind” which has always annoyed me even though I think its often meant as a compliment bizarrely.
Anyway I just wanted to also say I had only read spy novels and the like before I read Filth when I was 14, it made me forever a lover of books and you are still one of my favourite authors.
Also to add to TheYear4040 observation I am sure Juice Terry is in Porno which came out at least a year after Glue. Poor show!
Guardian contributor It only annoys me when it's dark psychos that assume and fancy a square go. I think I'n not a kind of dark-minded person by nature, but it seems to come out on the page. To me it's almost like the poets who write about the beautiful trees and scenery, they're the ones to keep the sharp knives away from at a dinner party.
ID0297573 asks:
1. Are we going to hear more from Begbie and co particularly with how Porno ended?
2. I heard you say a few years ago that the hangovers get worse with age but are you still up for trouble or has boxing training taken over?
3. Are drugs in Dublin the worst quality ever?
4. Is Lucy Brennan closer to Sick Boy or Begbie?
5. Do continual comparisons with Trainspotting piss you off a la Burgess and Clockwork Orange?
Guardian contributor 1. Quite possibly.
2. Like an ageing midfield player, you have to time your runs more. You can't be charging round the park.
3. They were alright 18 months ago.
4. Probably somewhere between the two.
5. No. I think that people always look for references, and compare and contrast, but it's one of these associations that are made.
LittleRichardjohn asks:
If the SNP are a progressive nationalist party, why don’t they promote themselves as just that?
Is there such a thing, and did it start in Scotland?
Guardian contributor I think the SNP is a broad church independence movement, and it's had all different trappings along the way. It's gone from Scottish nationalism into social democracy, but any independence movement shouldn't try and define itself as it has a solitary goal.
Nationalism is kind of loaded word, because of imperialism and fascism in modern European history, but I think globalisation which was supposed to be about internationalism is now seen as a con to line the pockets of a transnational neo-liberal elite. So in that context, there has been a kind of civic citizen-based nationalism that's emerged. So the perception of a nationalist is now changing from the negative associations that it has for someone like myself.
"We've been trying [to do a Porno film adaptation]. Unless we can do it right we won't do it at all"
ID0297573 asks:
Is Frank Sauzee the best Hibee ever?
Will the Porno flick ever happen
Guardian contributor He was one of the greatest for sure. But I'm of the Paddy Stanton vintage.
Well, I dunno on the film. We've been trying. Unless we can do it right we won't do it at all. It's 50/50.
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daftbell asks:
Would your writing have been different,would you have become such a writer if you was not being born Scottish? How would have been your sensitivity as a writer?
Guardian contributor I would think so. I think you kind of formed by where you grew up, it informs you in every way and as a writer too. Especially for character-driven stuff. But how different it would have been had I been born in England depends on the place - a lot of people all over find they have the same aesthetic sensibility as I have, but I express it differently, in different intonations.
daveycampbell20 asks:
What was it like seeing yourself in the film Trainspotting?
Guardian contributor It was kind of weird at first, but now I've got used to it. It's just another daft looking skinny fucker up on the screen.
Here's how the Trainspotting characters would have voted in the independence referendum
ID8600674 asks:
Which way would all of the main characters of Trainspotting voted in the referendum?
Guardian contributor Sick Boy would have voted No purely on the basis of living in London. If he'd lived in Edinburgh he'd have voted Yes. Renton would have been cynical and abstained from the whole thing, because others were getting into it. Begbie would have voted Yes in a very aggressive tribal way. Spud would have voted Yes and been very excited about it, but would have got fucked and not made it to the polling station in time.
Updated
"Gender inequality and the patriarchy particularly is a massive issue for men as well as women"
Nina O’Reilly asks:
Marabou Stork Nightmares is a great read, for many reasons, just one being how it unravels the lead up to a rape in a very objective and thought provoking way. Do you think that we need to think of gender inequality as less of a “women’s issue” and more as a conversation men need to be brought into? Was that your aim in any way when writing that novel? Cheers!
Guardian contributor I think gender inequality and the patriarchy particularly is a massive issue for men as well as women. If you think about it in terms of the oppression of women, which it is, but it also sends men to die in killing fields, and in jobs where they work until they drop. And not talk about illnesses and depression. The world we've created is very damaging to men and women, and we have to create a different. Something like rape is a conversation men have to have as well - men's attitudes have to change drastically, so they have to be a part of the conversation.
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"Two strikes and you're out, with me"
SuzanaJ asks:
Hello Mr. Welsh,
I would like to have one lifetime advice from you, about how to deal with people? (Seeing too much into them, if you know what I mean, and still wanting to be there for them).
My preferred book of yours is Crime, it just touched me somewhere in that place. You remain my favorite writer.
Wish you much love and great continuation.
Guardian contributor I think people are generally OK. You have to give them a second chance. Someone might be an arsehole, but they might be having a bad day, so they're worth another shot. If they're still an arsehole, there's nothing you can do to help them, or sort themselves out. Two strikes and you're out, with me.
Updated
"Ecstasy wasn't my finest hour"
Screamager asks:
First off, many thanks for getting me into the habit of reading. Ecstasy may not be your finest hour but it was the book that not only got me reading, but also writing both fiction and poetry, though I have the late Jim Carroll to thank for the latter.
I do have a lot that I want to ask you, but following the death of your friend, Paul Reekie, after having his benefits stripped off him, have you thought of writing about those people who are/were in the same boat. Having suffered mental illness for the best part of my adult life, I’m lucky but its not uncommon that people have died as a result, which would make a topical novel - or should that be done by someone else?
Much thanks for the influence.
Guardian contributor First to say, you're correct, Ecstasy wasn't my finest hour. But thank you!
Yeah, I think there's so much stigma around mental illness, but it is an inherently dramatic thing. If it's being treated novelistically, it's better that someone who has a genuine understanding of it try it, rather than someone who is looking from the outside without a sense of the root cause of the problems.
Updated
On Scotland: "You have to invest your faith in the inherent nuttiness of the people, regardless of how much money they have in their pockets. I believe we can pull this one off"
ID1095618 said:
Scotland: a blessing or a curse?
And added:
To expand, given that social dysfunction is inextricably intertwined with Scotland’s character (much like how great punk music is borne out of angst and righteous anger), how would the inherent madness and humour of the people translate to a positive, modern and economically successful Scotland and is it worth losing such character to achieve social progress.
Guardian contributor Can we stay mental and stay rich at the same time? A big question. You have to invest your faith in the inherent nuttiness of the people, regardless of how much money they have in their pockets. I believe we can pull this one off.
Updated
scrapegoat asks:
Do you feel that your current view of Scotland and its politics becomes romanticised now that you are viewing from a distance?
Guardian contributor I think it was probably more romanticised before when I was closer to it. I see things a bit more clearly now. I didn't think much about politics when I lived there, but now I spend a lot of time researching the economics of the country, and that's what converted me to the Yes camp. It's a combination every other part of the UK paying into a unitary government which leads to reinvestment in other parts of the country, which leads to different politics from the rest of the country. That can't be redressed within the current system, it's better to move out of that. It's being pushed out of that in fact, it doesn't fit into that paradigm.
Fran MacCarthy asks:
Thomas DeQuincey’s Confessions of an English Opium Eater, or Junky by William S Burroughs. Which is the better book? Or better yet, indulge us with your thoughts on both.
Guardian contributor I like them both, but I prefer Junky because I can see myself shuffle around New York in all of Burroughs' haunts, easier than I can place myself in Victorian England. But they're both perfect books.
ritzmercedes also says:
Hi Irvine. Absolutely adored A Decent Ride. What’s it like being the most scurrilous, wicked author in the land? He who dares wins and, me oh my, how you dare! You are sooo funny. Every page has some gem and you are always at your best when confronting the status quo. Long may you reign sir, you wonderful hoolie gentleman of leisure. X
Guardian contributor Thank you very much - it feels better when you're slightly intoxicated rather than badly hungover.
ritzmercedes asks:
Just how cool is it to get a four-star review from The Daily Telegraph this week?
Guardian contributor
Mike Templeman asks:
Why are Hibs so shite?
Guardian contributor It's a social service to make socially inadequate Jambos who lead miserable lives feel better about themselves.
"I write from character. I have to write in the voices that characters come to me in"
Policy2shock asks:
You’ve had criticized the Man Booker awards as one of the imperialism festivals in the world. What leads you to such a conclusion? What’s your idea about other important book and literature awards around the world? And...
Why do you constantly use Scottish words in your novels?
How much are you familiar with Persian literature including Iranian literature and what’s your idea about it ?
Guardian contributor I think there's a nature of the kind of festivals, with prizes like this, of a rich and learned white people bestowing them on their friends or the deserving poor. It makes me uncomfortable. I think some of the awards have evolved and have become more inclusive in their judging. I'm torn - there has to be book festivals and awards to keep an interest going in the thing, you have to have something that gets people talking, so they do have a function. But you want to see a broad representation of all classes, ethnicities and both genders across all awards.
Guardian contributor I write from character, and I have to write in the voices that characters come to me in. And I know nothing about Persian literature.
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moz66 asks:
Tell me how long have you been watching Hong Kong movies and why do you love them?
Guardian contributor I can't even remember when I started - they've always been in my consciousness. I like action movies without sugary sentimentality, or right wing saving the empire message - it's purely gratuitous nonsense.
KoloKweel asks:
Thanks for some great stuff over the years, though in particular for Trainspotting and The Kingdom of Fife, one of the funniest pieces I’ve ever read. What is it about the Scottish idiom that’s so apt for this kind of comedy? What inspired TKoF and why hasn’t it been televised/filmed yet? Surely Colin Farrell’s a decent shout for the lead...
Guardian contributor Thanks very much. The Kingdom of Fife - it would be nice to see it televised. I wanted to write about smalltown Scotland. I'd always had a soft spot for Cowdenbeath, I don't know why, but I've always liked it as a town.
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whiteyed says:
Thanks for books. I have enjoyed them. Are you a fan, perchance, of the novelist Gerald (Gerry) Durrell? I have notched a similarity of style
Guardian contributor
ID1566298 asks:
I enjoy your books and would like to know your literary influences and in what way they have inspired you to write and assisted in your prose style.
Guardian contributor The things I started off with were Evelyn Waugh and George Orwell. Even though Waugh was posher than me, I liked the way he wrote about group relationships, and schaudenfreude. And George Orwell, he was such a fascinating, commited political writer, he sucked me in from an early age. In terms of prose style, Roddy Doyle and James Kelman always gave me permission to write in that kind of way. In some ways I wasn't really conscious of it though - when I first started writing Trainspotting it couldn't have come alive in any other way.
buffalobee asks:
How similar are your finished narratives to the concepts held in your head when you start writing?
Guardian contributor A hard one to answer. I think you always have to con yourself that you've written the book you want to write, but you probably never do - it changes as you get into it. The concepts and themes change as you go. I couldn't even begin to put a percentage on it.
Irvine is with us now
Here he is at Guardian Towers:
And his first answer was to Brian Conaghan’s question:
Hi Irvine, Hibs and the Scottish Cup, what’s the story?
Guardian contributor We deliberately lose Scottish cup finals in order to keep the romance of the cup going - Hibs' failure in the cup is the only thing that keeps it interesting. It they won, it would kill it as a tournament.
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Post your questions for Irvine Welsh
In 1993, Trainspotting bottled the British literary scene with its tales of the highs and lows of heroin abuse, spoken in the thick brogue of Edinburgh’s council estates. Along with Danny Boyle’s subsequent film adaptation, it became a British cultural landmark, and Welsh has sustained its energy throughout his career.
Through the repeating cast of characters in Trainspotting, Porno and Skagboys, to the vile criminals in Filth and Crime, Welsh trades in people who either delight or despair in corruption. His latest book A Decent Ride sees the return of Terry “Juice” Lawson, the sex-obsessive last seen in Glue, who now finds himself robbed of his virility, thus setting up another turn through terrible behaviour and black comedy.
Welsh is appearing at a Guardian Live event on Tuesday 21 April alongside Peep Show writer and and novelist Jesse Armstrong, discussing the art of comic writing. Earlier that day, he’ll join us to answer your questions about anything in his career, starting at 11.20am BST – post yours in the comments section below, and he’ll answer as many as possible.
Updated
Thank you so much for all the questions. Very disappointed to have run out of time and not get to them all, but I've answered every one in sequence. All the best to everybody and enjoy the rest of your day. x