Contemporary British Place Writing: Origins, Definitions, New directions

ThisPhDbyPublication(Route2)bringstogetheratrilogyofbooks ofwhichIamthe soleauthor, whichsharecommongroundintermsofthemeandpreoccupation.I seek todemonstratehowthesepublicationshavecontributedto,andhelpedto define, theexistingbodyofworkthathascometobeincludedwithinthegenreof contemporaryplacewriting. ForthepurposesofthiscommentaryIamconsidering myworkwithinaBritishcontextandfocusingsolelyonworksofcreativenonfiction. Thesubmissionincludesmypublications:OnBrickLane (2007),DiamondStreet: theHiddenWorldofHattonGarden (2012)andEstuary:OutfromLondontotheSea (2016),allofwhicharefocusedonadeepexaminationofplaceincludingurban, edgelandandestuarinelandscapes.Thesebooks haveachievedwideinternational readership,beenhighlyacclaimedinthenationalpressandmedia, andrecognized bycriticsandotherwritersinthefieldaskeyexamplesofliterarynonfictioncreative writingonplace.Twoofthesebookshavebeenlistedformajorplacewritingprizes intheU.K. OnBrickLane wasshortlistedfortheOndaatjePrize,andEstuary was longlistedfortheGordonBurnsPrize. Inadditiontodemonstratingwhere mypracticeoverlapswiththeworkofother authors,myaiminthisthesisistoarticulatetheuniquewaysinwhichmyworking practicescontributetothedevelopmentanddefinitionsofplacewriting. Specifically, Iwillarguethatmyworkhasmadeauniquecontributionthoughamulti-modal community-engagedsite-specificcreativepraxisthatfocusesonthegeographical, culturalandsocialhistoryoftheseurbanandperi-urbanspaces,payingparticular attentiontodescribingtheselocationsthroughtheoraltestimoniesofpeoplewho havelivedandworkedthereovertime,inorderto reveal newandpreviouslyhidden histories.