“Every kind of book I've written has been written in a different way. There has not been any set time for writing, any set way, I haven't re-invented the process every time but I almost have.” WayWritingKindHas BeensBookDifferentLiteratureProcessWrittenHavensDifferent Ways Author:Irvine Welsh
“Sometimes there's a snobbery among literary types that these people don't really get it, but in a lot of ways they get it more than the literati. There's a culture in the background that they understand and know. They get that deeper level.” PeopleKnowsWaySometimesCultureLevelsTypeDeeperBackgroundsSnobbery Author:Irvine Welsh
“When I started off with Trainspotting, it was the way the characters came to me. That's how they sounded to me. It seemed pretentious to sound any other way. I wasn't making any kind of political statement.” WayKindCharacterPoliticalLiteratureSoundStatementsPretentiousTrainspotting Author:Irvine Welsh
“You've got the whole stuff with transgender toilets and stuff like that - that's no way for a government to behave. We're supposed to be against ISIS, so why are we trying to slowly introduce a country-club version of Sharia law in America, you know? It doesn't make any real sense at all. I think there's going to be a lot of energy, there is already a lot of reaction against that - people are prepared to really stand up and be counted for democracy, and in the process to find out what is and what isn't.” PeopleThinkingKnowsWayTryingRealCountryWholeGovernmentAmericaLawEnergyStuffProcessDemocracyPreparedClubsReactionsVersionsSupposed To BeBehaveIntroducingToiletsIsisTransgenderShariaCountry ClubsSharia Law Author:Irvine Welsh
“The inspiration can come in such small ways that if you sit there just waiting for the big epiphany you'll sit there for the rest of your life.” IfsWayBigsInspirationWaitingRest Of Your LifeEpiphany Author:Irvine Welsh
“You have to let people express themselves in the way that they need to express themselves. You have to express yourself in any way possible, provided you're prepared to live with the consequences.” PeopleWayNeedsConsequencePreparedExpress Yourself Author:Irvine Welsh
“I think the media in America have been absolutely fantastic about the rise of Trump, they've kept a firm eye on the ball: this constitutes democracy, this constitutes transparency, this constitutes fairness, this constitutes the way to behave in a civic society, this constitutes fascism, this constitutes authoritarianism. They're drawing that line, and they're calling him out every time. That's really what needs to happen, and you just have to do that.” ThinkingWayNeedsHas BeensHappensEyeAmericaLinesDemocracyMediaTrumpCallingBallsDrawingFantasticFirmBehaveFascismFairnessTransparencyCivicsAuthoritarianism Author:Irvine Welsh
“We have to accept that capitalism is coming to an end. We can't provide paid employment for people, all the industries with technology are counter-intuitive to profit, and we have to have a transition to the conceptualist society. The only way to do it fairly is as a social democracy, a radical social democracy, which isn't compromised by neo-liberalism and isn't compromised by the rich, and isn't compromised by hegemonic, authoritarian interests: to have that balance between the government, the private sector, and then the individual citizens again.” PeopleWayEndsGovernmentIndividualSocialInterestAcceptingTechnologyDemocracyRichIndustryBalanceCitizensCapitalismPaidProfitEmploymentRadicalLiberalismTransitionIntuitivePrivate SectorComing To An EndSocial Democracy Author:Irvine Welsh
“If I don't have something to do, I'm not the kind of person who can sit on a beach on holiday. I've got to go and check things out and see things and look at things, and have some kind of itinerary in my mind. I think that a lot of people who are, in some ways, successful are kind of like that.” PeopleIfsThinkingWayMindLooksKindPersonsSuccessfulChecksBeachHoliday Author:Irvine Welsh
“We were looking for someone who could get the film [Filth] made at that kind of level, with the finance we wanted, and we spoke to a lot of people. When I met James [McAvoy] in the Soho Hotel with Jon Baird, the director, he looked about ten years old. I thought there's no way he's going to be a forty-year-old divorced alcoholic cop. I thought, really lovely guy, I'll let him and John talk and see if they get on.” PeopleIfsWayYearsKindMadeWantedFilmGuyLevelsMetsDirectorsTenLovelyFinanceHotelFortySpokesCopDivorcedAlcoholicsFilthSohoForty Years Old Author:Irvine Welsh
“I think Scotland's got its own issues, in some ways similar to Northern Ireland with sectarianism, which has been a long-running sore. All the issues of land ownership, development resources, poverty, alcoholism and violence, all these things.” ThinkingWayLongHas BeensRunningPovertyIssuesViolenceLandDevelopmentResourcesIrelandOwnershipScotlandAlcoholismSectarianismNorthern Ireland Author:Irvine Welsh
“Nothing is covered adequately by the BBC. The BBC has become the biggest disappointment - they're just so terrified. And in a way it's not their fault: the parties have used them as a political football.” WayPoliticalUsedPartyFootballFaultsDisappointmentCoveredTerrified Author:Irvine Welsh
“In some ways, you can say that at any time in any writer's career: 'He might have run out of ideas.'” WayIdeasMightRunningCareers Author:Irvine Welsh
“You can argue about violence. It's destructive, but people are inherently violent in a lot of ways. Abusing drugs is always bad for people and bad for society, but the whole notion of festival is tied up with intoxication.” PeopleWayWholeViolenceDrugNotionArguingViolentDestructiveTiedFestivalsIntoxicationTied Up Author:Irvine Welsh
“There's no one way of telling a story or looking at reality, so I think any device is up for grabs as long as it fits in with the tone.” ThinkingWayLongStoriesRealityFitOne WayToneDevices Author:Irvine Welsh
“We start off with high hopes, then we bottle it. We realise that we’re all going to die, without really finding out the big answers. We develop all those long-winded ideas which just interpret the reality of our lives in different ways, without really extending our body of worthwhile knowledge, about the big things, the real things. Basically, we live a short disappointing life; and then we die. We fill up our lives with shite, things like careers and relationships to delude ourselves that it isn’t all totally pointless.” WayLongIdeasDifferentRealBodyBigsRealityDiesAnswersCareersOur LivesFindingsDifferent WaysExistentialismBottlesRealisingWorthwhileBig ThingsPointlessReal ThingsDisappointingExtendingWelsh Author:Irvine Welsh
“Now, for the first time, he's seeing that there really is a way out of this, and it's all so simple. You don't have to run away. You just meet somebody special and step sideways into a parallel universe.” WayFirstsRunningUniverseSimpleStepsSeeingSpecialFirst TimeRunning AwayParallelsSidewaysParallel UniverseSomebody Special Author:Irvine Welsh
“I wanted to capture the excitement of house music, almost like a four-four beat, and the best way to do that was to use a language that was rhythmic and performative.” WayUseWantedLiteratureHouseLanguageMusicFourBeatsBest WayExcitementCaptureHouse Music Author:Irvine Welsh
