There are so many authors and poets (as well as bookshops) knocking round these parts we’re surprised it’s taken this long for someone to cobble together an organised literary festie.
“The idea came because one day at Archway Market where I work,” says founder Stephanie Smith, “I realised that if you throw a stick in this area, you are very likely to hit an author. Bill Paterson and Caroline Walton bought some broccoli, Paul Morley strolled by, Mark Hudson told me about his latest book and the man who made Rastamouse arrived for some bread. Then there was a rollercoaster of realising just how extraordinary our local literary heritage is – and recommendations came in from people who knew people who knew people…”
The result? ArchWay With Words – see what they did there? – which promises to be a memorable week-long event taking place at venues including the Hideaway, Oak & Pastor, Methodist Church and the library. It all starts on September 21 with a predictably stellar line-up. Think Tracy Chevalier, Booker prize-nominated Charlotte Mendelson, Charlie Higson, Jah Wobble, Caitlin Davies, John Hegley, Michele Hanson – and even what’s being billed as Archway’s first ever poetry slam. More surreal is a plan for a flashmob singing Wuthering Heights next to the Post Office. Okaaay.
So why Archway and not Kentish Town? Well, over there they’ve been at the receiving end of some dosh from Islington Council, and the festival was commissioned by the Archway Town Centre Group (ATCG) and funded by Islington Council and ‘Word 2013’.
So good for them. It’s exactly the right thing for the Council to be funding, after all.
