Leon A.C. Qualls' story about Swing Hammer Swing!

I was given a copy of ‘Swing Hammer Swing!’ by my tutor, a Liverpudlian, teaching me creative writing on a degree course in Wales. And what was it he was trying to teach a Glaswegian? How to write appropriately with Glaswegian vernacular. Up until then I thought that my journey as a writer would only allow me to express myself in standardised English. Little did I know, that I could write authentic Glaswegian dialogue, mixed in with English narration and a sprinkling of Scottish banter to create a recipe far greater than I could ever imagine; and thus, gone were the insipid characterisations of mad, mental folk of bygone personal memories, to be replaced by something familiar, something tangible, something real. And all thanks to the late Jeff Torrington and his debut novel, which won Whitbread Book of the Year in 1992.

Then, when writing my own Glaswegian fiction I found it extremely difficult to pin down what was an appropriate amount of vernacular to use.
Should it be in standardised English and thus pander to the broadest possible audience?
Should it be fully Glaswegian from character dialogue to narrator? Or can there be a mix which allows the Glaswegian soul to blossom whilst inviting as many readers as possible to join the party? This is where ‘Swing Hammer Swing!’ showed me the way.

Torrington used the mix of standardised English and Glaswegian vernacular dialogue to supreme effect, judging each and every word on its own merits, to be approached and pronounced in the manner that the context and situation of the moment demanded.

‘Swing Hammer Swing!’ is a truly magnificent novel, and Torrington’s use of language is phenomenal. Non-native readers may find the splashings of Glaswegian vernacular a bit tricky, but if you can keep with it, it is a certainly a worthwhile journey: funny, tragic and ultimately a classic.

It really has changed my life. Without it, I may have given up on my writing.
Without it I wouldn’t have fallen in love once more with my literary kin.
Without it another voice of Glasgow (mine for sure, small but not insignificant) would have been extinguished forever.

And if nothing else, Torrington’s sheer determination to finish the novel has inspired me like no other. It took him thirty years to complete, and when asked by a journalist why it had taken so long, he inimitably replied, "Ah couldnae find ma pencil," – a show of great humour echoing the very nature of the characters he had written, and playing down the importance of how hard he had worked on refining the text.

A great book, and a great man. If my tutor had not given me this book, my life would surely have been all the poorer for it.