Rewriting the North online at the Portico Library

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

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Rewriting the North: Graphic Writing

13 October 2022

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Writer Jeff Young. Photo courtesy The Portico Library
Writer Jeff Young. Photo courtesy The Portico Library.
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In the latest online event in The Portico Library’s 2022 Rewriting The North programme, writers Tabitha Lasley and Jeff Young talk about place, life writing and blurred genres to Dr David Cooper of the Centre for Place Writing.

Sea State marks the arrival of a gifted and exciting new voice” – Jon McGregor.

Tabitha Lasley was a journalist for 10 years, and has lived in London, Johannesburg and Aberdeen. Her work has been published in the Guardian, Esquire, the London Review of Books, and her first book Sea State: A Memoir was published by HarperCollins in February. Described as “a candid examination of the life of North Sea oil riggers, and an explosive portrayal of masculinity, loneliness and female desire”, the book was shortlisted for the Portico Prize 2022 and the Gordon Burn Prize, and longlisted for the Folio Award. Jon McGregor, author of Reservoir 13, says: “These are powerful and moving stories of working lives in a dangerous and all-male environment, made all the more powerful by the way Lasley refuses to absent herself from the telling. The writing is carefully and unobtrusively polished, with hard edges and unflinching clarity, and a memorable turn of phrase. Sea State marks the arrival of a gifted and exciting new voice.”

Jeff Young is a writer for theatre, radio and screen, whose TV credits include Eastenders, CBBC and Casualty. He broadcasts essays for Radio 3, collaborates with artists and musicians on sound art installations, and has worked on many arts projects in Liverpool and elsewhere, including completing a residency in Bill Drummond’s Curfew Tower. His book Ghost Town was also longlisted for the Portico Prize 2022 and it was shortlisted for the 2020 Costa Biography prize, and is described as “a love letter to the hidden Liverpool of the author’s youth in a lyrical melding of memoir, history and photography”. He is currently writing his second book for Little Toller Books, Wild Twin.

Dr David Cooper is a Senior Lecturer in English and the founding Co-Director (with Rachel Lichtenstein) of the Centre for Place Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. His interdisciplinary research focuses on the relationship between literature and geographical thought. He is co-editor of the The Routledge Handbook of Literary Geographies, forthcoming with Routledge.

The Rewriting the North series celebrates writers and writing connected with the North of England. The 2022 season of Rewriting the North explores themes in the Portico Prize 2022 winning novel, Toto Among The Murderers by Sally J Morgan, which captures life for young women on the edges of counterculture in 1970s Sheffield and Leeds. Themes that are explored in the novel and that will be discussed during the events include the impact of male violence, fiction about the recent past, memoir fused with fiction, writing about the north at a distance, and women’s art.

Rewriting the North is funded by the Arts Council and is curated by the Portico Library in partnership with the Centre for Place Writing, Manchester Metropolitan University.

Sea State by Tabitha Lasley
Sea State by Tabitha Lasley

Where to go near Rewriting the North online at the Portico Library

Hern Food
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Restaurant
Hern

This produce-driven bistro in Chapel Allerton, Leeds, prides itself on cooking with the only finest ingredients and his headed up by Cordon Bleu-trained chef Rab Adams.

Indie Makers
Leeds
Shop
Indie Makers

Indie Makers, located in Leads’ corn exchange, trades in art and gifts from independent makers across the UK.

Plant Point
Leeds
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Plant Point

Plant Point is designed to help you bring the jungle into your urban or suburban space. The home of beautiful plants in Leeds.

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Eat Your Greens

Eat Your Greens is a vibrant, organic restaurant bringing a hint of European flair to the city’s plant-based dining scene.

Sela opened in 2004 with an idea to provide quality imported beers from around the world, fun cocktails to compliment the beer selections and a stage for the region’s finest and most talented musicians to play on.Over ten years later, we’re still all about the beer, cocktails, live music and pizza!We carry over a selection of over thirty different beers spanning the globe from Pickering with The Great Yorkshire Brewery’s Yorkshire Blackout, to New York with a selection from Brooklyn Brewery, and Belgium with longtime Sela favourite, Vedett.Our cocktails change regularly too. Our best-sellers are joined by fun, new offerings and our pizza menu is regarded as one of the best the city of Leeds has to offer.As for the live music, Sela has had not only the great and the good from the region. Local funksters, The New Mastersounds are regular visitors and we stage the amazing Mojah Reggae Band for their weekly Wednesday residency.  Our other long running programming incl
Leeds
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Sela Bar & Pizzeria

Sela Bar is a cosy Leeds basement spot with live music, great drinks, and a cool, laid-back, atmospheric vibe.

Leeds Beckett SU
Leeds
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Leeds Beckett Student Union

Leeds Beckett Student Union hosts big-name artists and supports students through events, live music, and a vibrant campus venue.

Located on Cardigan Fields Leisure Park, Vue Leeds Kirkstall is a nine screen cinema with almost 2000 seats. There's ample parking and the cinema is surrounded by various restaurants and entertainment facilities, making for a great evening out!

Watch the latest film releases and enjoy the industry-leading Sony 4K Digital screens, boasting spectacular picture quality, along with enhanced audio quality courtesy of Dolby 'Profound Sound'. Stepped SuperVue seating means you will never miss a second of the action while VIP seating guarantees you an extra touch of luxury whenever you want to upgrade.

Three of the nine screens showcase the newest 3D releases while Vue Classical brings the latest stage sensations to the big screen, and parents can save as they go with Family Tickets and Kids AM screenings offering great value for money.
Leeds
Cinema
Vue Cinema – Leeds Kirkstall Road

Located on Cardigan Fields Leisure Park, Vue Leeds Kirkstall is a nine screen cinema with almost 2000 seats. There’s ample parking and the cinema is surrounded by various restaurants and

Restaurant 2
Leeds
Café or Coffee Shop
Empire Café

Empire Café is located in Leeds’ ‘home of day dining’- Fish street!

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Phranakhon

Phranakhon Thai Tapas is a revolutionised Thai dining restaurant with a combination of European indulgence and authentic Thai tastes.

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Wen’s

Wen’s is a family owned Chinese restaurant specialising in authentic, home cooked cuisine.

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