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That's You & The working-class philosophy of Tom Leonard Charles Lang (24166314) PUREID: 448166918 Working-class poetry contemporary poetry Scottish literature Tom Leonard This thesis is composed of two parts. The creative component is a collection of poems that navigate contemporary working-class experience. Written in Glaswegian dialect, the poems chart the life of a male speaker through a complicated childhood into new perspectives, drawing attention to the complexities of class and masculinity. The poems also examine the relationship between class and the environment and consider Scottish identity at a moment of political and cultural change. In so doing, they engage with an international approach to literary form and tradition and seek to understand how working-class representation can be understood in these terms. The critical component explores the poetry of Tom Leonard, suggesting that his representation of working-class identity can be illuminated with attention to his application of existentialist humanism. Chapter 1 analyses Leonard’s writing in working-class dialect with a view to understanding his reaction to literary tradition and his complicated position within Scottish and British literature. Chapter 2 examines his existentialist ideas by reading his poetry alongside the work of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Chapter 3 scrutinises his perception of media and political and colonial power. Thesis is embargoed until 31 July 2028. 2026-10-01T16:56:08Z Text Thesis 10.17034/32634366.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/That_s_You_The_working-class_philosophy_of_Tom_Leonard/32634366 All Rights Reserved Open Access after 2028-07-31