Rants
“Was Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France a rant? Of course it was a rant. Was Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man a rant? Of course it was a rant. Is my book a rant? Of course it’s a rant.”
- an interview with Norman Finkelstein on the Today Programme
This series of political polemics will attempt to widen political debate in Scotland, and politics will be the core area of activity. However, Vagabond Voices also welcomes manuscripts on social, cultural, philosophical and religious subjects.
According to Chambers Dictionary, a rant is “an empty declamation” (which we will avoid), “bombast”, “a tirade” (most certainly), and in Scots “a noisy frolic” (why not, as there is no reason why loud and passionate political argument should not be mixed with humour and merriment).
That great tradition of pamphleteering in the English-speaking world is one that we should be proud of and reviving. Writing remains the most accessible of the arts, and nothing is so intoxicating as writing that is inspired by righteous passion.