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Irvine Welsh

Scottish writer · United Kingdom · On the map · Writers · Born 1958 · age 68

Irvine Welsh is a Scottish novelist, short story writer, screenwriter and filmmaker.

Irvine Welsh is read about 833 times a day, in 42 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 8 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 409 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

2004“You can't just have stuff that is free and escapist, you have to have stuff that is confrontational as well. You need stuff that is mystical but you need the realism too.”In their words"Alan Black Interviews Irvine Welsh for 3AM", 3:AM Magazine (2004).

1994“Ah jist shrugged, -- Well, as one anarchist plumber sais tae the other: smash the cistern.”In their wordsA conversation between plumbers.

“Bad luck is usually transmitted by close proximity to habitual sufferers.”In their wordsThe narrator talking about Ange after they are released from prison.

“There's nothing worse than a violent beating from an unremarkable person. Physical violence with someone is too much like shagging them. Too much id involved.”In their wordsA Smart Cunt: A Novella, "Associates as Opiates" (Chapter 3).

1993“Sometimes ah think that people become junkies just because they subconsiously crave a wee bit ay silence.”In their wordsRenton, "Kicking: The Skag Boys, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Mother Superior" (Chapter 1, Story 1).

“The rhetorical question, the stock-in-trade weapon ay burds and psychos.”In their wordsTommy, "Relapsing: Scotland Takes Drugs in Psychic Defense" (Chapter 2, Story 1).

1958Born27 September 1958

People around Irvine

Close ties

Also in Deutsch

Media & music

In their own words 4

,
Irvine Welsh
,
4 statements, newest first

  1. The duty sergeant was going through his routine of asking each brawling set of prisoners who the Billy and who the Tim was.

    1994 · "The Two Philosophers"., Own words

  2. Once you've been with each other in a primal, shagging state, it's hard to talk about the weather.

    1994 · A Smart Cunt: A Novella, "Marriage" (Chapter 13)., Own words

  3. We are all acquaintances now". It goes beyond our personal junk circumstances; a brilliant metaphor for our times.

    1993 · ibid, Own words

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About this person

His novels and short stories, which almost always take place in his native Scotland, are known for their gritty depictions of working-class life and its intricacies; particularly drug addiction, social alienation, lack of opportunity and boredom, amongst others.

Country
United Kingdom
Category
Writers
Type
Writer / Author
Status
Living
Dates
Born 1958 · age 68

Where to find them

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In the same film or series as Irvine

Suki WaterhouseAlso in Creation Stories (2021)Jamie BellAlso in Filth (2013)Elizabeth McGovernAlso in Swung (2015)

Writers from the United Kingdom 2

Jodie Marsh54.6 of 100Christopher Hitchens66.7 of 100