Kevin Williamson (politician)

Kevin Williamson (politician)

Kevin Williamson (born 1961) is a writer, publisher, and activist originally from Caithness. He is a Scottish socialist and republican and was an activist for the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP), and was the architect of their radical drug policy, which includes the legalisation of cannabis and the provision by the state of free heroin to addicts. He wrote a regular weekly column, "Rebel Ink", for the Scottish Socialist Voice.

Publishing career

In 1992 Williamson launched a literary magazine called "Rebel Inc" and through its pages was one of the first publishers of such Scottish writers as Irvine Welsh, Laura Hird, Alan Warner, and Toni Davidson. He has also championed such major Scottish writers as James Kelman, Duncan McLean, Gordon Legge and Alasdair Gray.

In 1996 Williamson joined forces with Edinburgh-based Canongate Books to create the Rebel Inc imprint which, in the following five years, published almost sixty titles, mixing Scottish fiction with the international counter-culture and the politics of dissent. Within the Rebel Inc imprint Williamson re-published a series of out of print titles under the heading of Rebel Inc Classics that included writers such as Richard Brautigan, Alexander Trocchi, Charles Bukowski, Nelson Algren, Knut Hamsun and Jack London.

Political Activism

He is a long-time campaigner for the legalisation of cannabis, and unsuccessfully tried to open a "hash cafe" in Edinburgh. In 1997 Williamson went on a "National Change The Drug Laws" tour with former cannabis smuggler Howard Marks.

In 1999 Williamson stood as an SSP candidate in the first ever elections to the Scottish Parliament in the Edinburgh Central constituency. In 2001 he stood again for the SSP in Edinburgh Central in the Westminster General Election.

In 2004 Williamson became the first person to be physically ejected by the police from the Scottish Parliament when he made an anti-war protest wearing a George Bush mask. He is strong supporter of Scottish independence and Independence First.

In August 2006, in the aftermath of Tommy Sheridan's libel case against the News of the World, Williamson parted company with the Scottish Socialist Party. A lengthy [http://myresignationletterfromthessp.blogspot.com/ letter of resignation] was published online which contained a highly personal attack on Tommy Sheridan, as well as citing political differences with the direction the SSP was going in.

Writings

Since acrimoniously parting company with Canongate Books, Williamson has worked as a newspaper columnist, poodle clipper and cultural commentator, regularly appearing in print and on television and radio. In 2002 he had a regular weekly column controversially axed from "The Herald" newspaper for his outspoken views on Israel.

His published work includes "A Visitor's Guide To Edinburgh" (co-written with Irvine Welsh in 1993), and "Drugs and the Party Line" (1997). His poetry has been published in anthologies and magazines. In 2005 he won the Robert Louis Stevenson Award for literature.

External links

* [http://www.kevinwilliamson.blogspot.com Kevin Williamson's blog]
* [http://laurahird.com/showcase/kevinwilliamson.html Selected poetry by Williamson]
* [http://myresignationletterfromthessp.blogspot.com/ Letter of Resignation from SSP]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kevin Williamson — may refer to:* Kevin Williamson (politician) * Kevin Williamson (screenwriter) * Kevin Williamson (actor) …   Wikipedia

  • Williamson (surname) — Family name name = Williamson imagesize= caption= pronunciation = meaning = son of William region = English speaking countries origin = William, Old Germanic related names = Willams, Willson, Wilson footnotes = Williamson is a common English… …   Wikipedia

  • Tedford Williamson — Infobox Officeholder name= Tedford Fielden Ted Williamson caption= Tedford Williamson office= Round Rock, Texas, City Council term start=2005 term end=2007 birth date= birth date and age |1957|12|11 birth place= Vivian, Caddo Parish, Louisiana,… …   Wikipedia

  • Derrick White (politician) — Derrick O Clancy White Derrick White in Trinity College Dublin, 1995 Born July 7, 1942(1942 07 07) Ballymena, Northern Ireland …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Jacobs (Georgia politician) — For other uses, see Mike Jacobs (disambiguation). Mike Jacobs is a Republican member of the Georgia House of Representatives representing District 80, which makes up portions of northern DeKalb County. Jacobs is an attorney by profession. He… …   Wikipedia

  • Martin Scott (politician) — Martin Scott is a Republican representative from District 2 to the Georgia House of Representatives. External links Georgia House of Representatives bio …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Wallace (politician) — Michael L. Wallace Member of Parliament for Burlington Incumbent Assumed office 2006 Preceded by Paddy Torsney Personal details Born …   Wikipedia

  • Mark Hatfield (Georgia politician) — For the Oregon politician, see Mark Hatfield. Mark Hatfield (born on July 29, 1969, in Waycross, Georgia) is a Republican member of the Georgia House of Representatives, having been in office since 2005. He represents Georgia s 177th… …   Wikipedia

  • Nikki Randall (politician) — Nikki Randall Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 138th district In office 1999 – present Personal details Born June 3, 1972 (1972 06 03) (age 39) Macon, Georgia …   Wikipedia

  • March 14 — For the Lebanese political coalition, see March 14 alliance. << March 2011 >> Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”