ScotlandsFest: Choose Life Choose Leith – Trainspotting on Location

Set firmly in unglamorous 1980s Leith, Trainspotting has burst through stage, film and now musical genres, dodging the forces of orthodoxy and censorship. But is it just scurrilous punk, junk, transgressional entertainment that got lucky? Bell reveals how this hard-to-read and on-location book tells truths that need to be told. And how it’s everyone’s business. Bell is the ideal guide: author of and living in Leith since 1980, he brings street-level wisdom, erudite research, and a good dash of humour to the Trainspotting phenomenon.

A great study from a serious Trainspotting scholar. IRVINE WELSH

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ScotlandsFest is Luath Press' annual festival during the Edinburgh fringe, celebrating the vibrant literary, cultural and political landscape of Scotland. There are many Scotlands, so many ideas of what Scotland is and can be. Each of us carries our own vision, our own experiences and our own perspectives of our nation. At ScotlandsFest, we celebrate these many Scotlands as seen through the eyes of the poet, the artist and the scholar.

Whether you live here or are visiting, make the most of your time at the Fringe. Discover ScotlandsFest. Big thinking in a small country – thought-provoking discussions, immersive storytelling, history, poetry, politics and more.