James Alexander Kelman was born in Glasgow on 9th June 1946; he was the second of five sons. His father, Ronald Kelman, was a self-employed frame maker and gilder, inheriting this trade from his own father who migrated from Aberdeenshire to Glasgow at the turn of the century. The family at first lived in Govan, and then moved to Drumchapel. The contrast between these two areas of Glasgow highlights the historical and geographical territory of Kelman's novels and short stories. Govan epitomises the older Glasgow of the “inner city tenement”, while Drumchapel is one of the modern housing schemes that came into being after the Second World War as part of an institutionally legitimised programme of urban redevelopment. Kelman left school at fifteen to work in a printing factory as an…
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Citation: Shanks, Paul Fraser. "James Kelman". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 April 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2463, accessed 21 November 2024.]
