Gray was a civic nationalist and a republican, and wrote supporting socialism and Scottish independence. He was writer-in-residence at the University of Glasgow from 1977 to 1979, and professor of Creative Writing at Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities from 2001 to 2003. Kennedy, Janice Galloway, Chris Kelso and Iain Banks. His books inspired many younger Scottish writers, including Irvine Welsh, Alan Warner, A.L. It often contains extensive footnotes explaining the works that influenced it. His writing style is postmodern and has been compared with those of Franz Kafka, George Orwell, Jorge Luis Borges and Italo Calvino. Before Lanark, he had plays performed on radio and TV. His artwork has been widely exhibited and is in several important collections. As well as his book illustrations, he painted portraits and murals.

He studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1952 to 1957. His works of fiction combine realism, fantasy, and science fiction with the use of his own typography and illustrations, and won several awards. He published novels, short stories, plays, poetry and translations, and wrote on politics and the history of English and Scots literature. His first novel, Lanark (1981), is seen as a landmark of Scottish fiction. His writing style is postmodern and has been compared with those of Franz Kafka, G Alasdair James Gray was a Scottish writer and artist.

Alasdair James Gray was a Scottish writer and artist.

Lanark by Alasdair Gray