Class, social mobility and the role of political protest to be explored at free Leeds talk

Wes Brown, author of When Lights are Bright, will be discussing class, capitalism and identity with Dr Rachel Connor, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Leeds Beckett, in the last of three (Re)Writing Yorkshire events, a collaborative venture by the School of Cultural Studies and Humanities at Leeds Beckett and partners and venues across Leeds and the north.

The event, which will take place on Tuesday 26 April at 6.30pm, will start at Dock 29 followed by an optional guided walk across the Leeds dockside.  The event will culminate with a celebration in Granary Wharf.

Speaking ahead of the event, Dr Connor said: “Wes is a very exciting addition to our (Re)Writing Yorkshire programme and a great way to end what has been a very successful event series for the 2015-16 academic year.

“Closely mapping the topography of Leeds, Wes’s novel explores timely issues like the significance and role of protest, consumerism, capitalism and class.  Our Q&A at Dock 29 will tease out these issues further and the ‘promenade’ element of the event – when we walk from there to Granary Wharf - will allow an experiential relationship with the novel, reinforcing the links between the novel and the actual physical space of the city.”

Inspired by the disappearance of Leeds school girl Shannon Matthews and the clashes between the English Defence League (EDL) and anti-globalisation protesters, When Lights are Bright tells the story of contrarian journalist, James Oisin, and how his search for the missing girl leads him to confront the truth of his past, the white working class and the consequences of his contrarianism.

Wes explained: “The novel started when a friend of mine pointed out that the Shannon Matthews kidnap could have come straight out of a Martin Amis novel, a sort of postmodern crime.  Round about the same period, the EDL were demonstrating in Leeds and I had begun working in the arts as a freelancer having been brought up in a more traditional working class background.  I felt that these things and the changing status of Leeds as a 'regenerated' city were all somehow interconnected.  Class, capitalism and identity.  Does class matter anymore?  Or do we simply now consume and self-create our own identities?  Perhaps, then, it matters more than ever.

“I wanted a Leeds that would be very specific and instantly recognisable to people who know the city but there's also something indistinct and universal in such descriptions of brands and company names.  Something displacing and familiar, something we recognise about globalisation and as James thinks in the novel, the investment that's making Leeds another place, one more like everywhere else.” 

Thirty-year-old Wes was born in Leeds and is the young writers’ co-ordinator at the National Association of Writers in Education and Editorial Assistant at Magma Poetry.  He has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme and is a visiting lecturer in creative writing at the University of East London.

The series, which has seen academic researchers, established writers and creative practitioners examine new representations of Yorkshire in literature, television, film, music and art, is run in collaboration with The Leeds Library, Leeds Big Bookend, Dead Ink Books and ‘The Read Regional’ scheme at New Writing North as a way of connecting arts organisations across the city and the northern region.  Past events have featured award-winning authors A J Kirby and Richard Smyth, and Man Booker Prize shortlisted author, Sunjeev Sahota.

Dr Connor added: “We’re really pleased to have been able to continue the (Re)Writing Yorkshire series again this year; 2015 proved to be a huge success and 2016 has been no different.

“Our aim was to host live events that connected Leeds Beckett with the wider reading and writing community, born from our fascination with representations of 21st century Yorkshire across the creative and critical domain.”