Q&A with author James Robertson
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James Robertson was born in Kent in 1958. He studied history at the University of Edinburgh and did a PhD on Walter Scott. He is the author of five novels, four collections of short stories, a book of poetry and several Scots translations of children’s books. His novel The Testament of Gideon Mack (2006) was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. He lives in Angus, Scotland, with his wife.
What books are currently on your bedside table?
Selected Poems of Robert Bringhurst, Butcher’s Broom by Neil Gunn, The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber.
What book changed your life?
The Complete Poems of Hugh MacDiarmid.
When did you know you were going to be a writer?
About the age of six. At 10 I had my own typewriter and the condition became permanent!
What is your daily writing routine?
Do everything and anything else first. When writing a novel, I aim for 1,000 words a day.
Where do you write best?
In my office at the back of the house, away from the street. It has a view to the garden when required, if I swivel my chair away from the PC.
Who are your literary influences?
MacDiarmid, Stevenson, Scott, Dickens, DeLillo, Carver, Flann O’Brien, Flannery O’Connor and any other writer who makes me wish I’d written what he or she has.
What are you scared of?
Losing the will or ability to write; death by crocodile.
When do you feel most free?
Walking the Scottish hills, alone.
How do you relax?
Horizontally.
What would you change about yourself?
I’d like to be better at playing the guitar!
If you could own any painting, what would it be?
Probably something by Picasso, perhaps from his blue period, such as “The Old Guitarist” or the 1902 “Mère et enfant” held by the National Galleries of Scotland.
What book do you wish you’d written?
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope.
How would you earn your living if you had to give up writing?
Something physical and outdoors, if possible.
Where is your favourite place in the world?
Scotland. Can’t help it!
What does it mean to be a writer?
Always asking questions, never being satisfied with the answers.
James Robertson’s latest book is ‘365: Stories’ (Penguin)
Photograph: Marianne Mitchelson
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