The irony is all too apparent, given Enriquez comes from a country notorious for chaos and corruption. With her tousled grey hair, Alesteir Crowley t-shirt and leather jacket, Enriquez looks more like a musician than a writer of contemporary horror (it’s easy to imagine her propping up some dimly lit bar with Cat Power or PJ Harvey).

I discovered Enriquez’s stories fairly recently, with collection ‘The Dangers of Smoking in Bed.’ Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, the connecting tissue between these twelve stories appears to be collective trauma. ‘The Cart’, for example, focuses on a homeless man who wanders into a local neighbourhood. His cart, packed with junk, becomes a metaphorical curse, as various local characters assault him and tip over his belongings. Hunger and insanity quickly ensue, the slender threads of civilization beginning to fray. The one family who showed the man a degree of kindness are briefly spared but fearing for their safety, are forced to flee their home.

Yes, Enriquez’s stories are violent but violence is a huge part of Argentinean history. In the 53 years since the first military coup in 1930 – and until the last dictatorship fell in 1983 – the Argentine military ruled the country for 25 years, imposing an astonishing 14 dictators under the title of ‘president’; on average, a new leader every 1.7 years. The Junta was finally toppled by a combination of economic collapse, public discontent, and the disastrous handling of the Falklands crisis. But economic stability was a long time coming: in the 80’s, there was a period when inflation rocketed to 1000%. ‘Growing up in the 80’s, I didn’t see my parents that much. They weren’t around at home because they were working like 25 different jobs, just to survive.’

Abandoned children are a recurring theme in Enriquez’s world. ‘Kids Who Come Back’, the longest story in the ‘Smoking’ collection, centres around Mehti, a woman working as an administrator for a social work agency, who uncovers a connecting series of unsolved abduction cases. One day, these missing teenagers return to be reunited with their loved ones. But Mehti realises the returned are merely doppelgangers, a discovery which has the effect of traumatising the families all over again. In ‘Angelita Unearthed’, a young girl finds the buried bones of a child who died as a baby – the eponymous Angelita, a lost child who again becomes human, returning as a rotting zombie. It’s heartbreaking that this wretched soul is denied something close to peace but Enriquez knows redemption is usually only a fixture of mainstream Hollywood – real life is sometimes more like a terrified dash along a corridor dotted with razor blades.

After two collections – the second being ‘Things We Lost in the Fire’ – Enriquez confesses to having become slightly bored with the genre which made her name. Now she’s produced her first full length novel, ‘Our Share of Night’, a 736 page tome published by Granta. Partly the story of a relationship between a father and a son, ‘Night’ is also a novel about a secret society indulging in dark magic and occult sacrifice.

A metaphor for decades of fascism, perhaps: it’s easy to draw a line between the novel, and the so-called Dirty War. Between 1976 and 1983, the Argentine government set up a series of detention centres; many left wing protesters were kidnapped, detained, and tortured. Human rights were repeatedly violated. These were the los desaparecidos – the disappeared. It’s estimated that 30,000 people were murdered in this way.

Enriquez: ‘I enjoy watching the odd slasher movie, but violence should be shocking. Political violence in Argentina was addressed in a strange way. It was grey but terrifying.’ Pictures of the disappeared regularly appeared in the media without names or context; statistics whose lives counted for nothing. ‘This was the zeitgeist. Death and violence was in the air … so horror as a genre is a way to give suffering back its true nature. You shine a light on it, and restore its original, horrifying soul.’

It’s hard to disagree when she talks about reclaiming suffering from those who have chosen to Photoshop Argentina’s past. In contemporary Latin America, the elite and powerful control not only wealth and property but also political discourse. Fellow novelist Max Porter, host for this event, observed that truth and reconciliation isn’t happening in history books right now but in the realm of contemporary fiction.

Enriquez’s ability to write convincing young characters means she already has a loyal audience with teenage readers, eager to embrace more challenging fiction than ‘Twilight’ and ‘The Hunger Games.’ ‘Teenagers are like monsters’, she says, ‘their bodies change quickly, and I think a lot of us don’t remember how brutal it is. Teenage gangs are like secret societies. I see them in the street and wonder ‘what are they into?’ I don’t think you ever feel as deeply at any other time in your life, than your years as a teenager.’ Modern adolescence in this world is a tough gig, at best. ‘The planet is dying, fascism is rising … I wouldn’t want to be young again. It’s awful.’

Enriquez is smart and passionate, and it’s sometimes hard to keep up. In a wide ranging, hour long discussion she whizzes through some of the artists who have influenced her, from Charles Dickens to Victor Hugo, Arthur Rimbaud to Suede and the Manic Street Preachers (at the signing desk, she tells me ‘The Holy Bible’ is one of her favourite albums). The fiction she writes – raw, ambiguous, disturbing – might not be for everyone.

But this event was sold out, so clearly there’s an audience hungry for this type of work. Porter observed that sections of ‘Our Share of Night’ shocked and disturbed him but his enthusiasm for the novel was undimmed. ‘Thankyou for giving me these nightmares’, he quipped.

Like all the best horror, the fiction of Mariana Enriquez has a higher purpose. She recognises that confronting trauma is the only way to truly own it.

The Manchester Literature Festival runs from 7-22 October 2022.

The post Mariana Enriquez at the Manchester Literature Festival: Review appeared first on Quays Life.

‘The Way Back Almanac’ grew out of this desire, alongside a recognition that the natural world isn’t somewhere you need to take a day trip to find. Nature is everywhere and connects us all. But sometimes we need a helping hand to both see and appreciate what is in front of us, and this book has many practical tips to help us do just that.

The basic premise is anyone, anywhere, who has a desire to connect with nature and a curiosity to learn about it can do so – even if you live in one room of a shared flat in the middle of the city.

The book is split into 12 sections, one for each month of the year. Immediately this draws us into a rhythm of the seasons by suggesting activities to do both indoors and outside, that relate to the time of year.

The book follows the calendar year – January to December – but unlike many new year, new you type books, this one actively advocates against any big life changes at this time. Instead, it starts with gentle activities that involve enjoying the natural world from the warmth of your home.

Activities vary from becoming familiar with the night sky and its movements to watching wildlife webcams, where you can follow birds and animals in real time in their natural setting, while putting your feet up with a cup of tea. If you have a garden there are suggestions for growing herbs and vegetables, with adaptations for how you can grow your own with as little space as a single windowsill.

The wide range of produce available in supermarkets has left many of us unfamiliar with the local farming rhythms. For each month the book includes a section to help guide us towards seasonal fruit and veg choices, making the most of local produce with vegan recipes that have been designed so they can be adapted easily to include dairy, meat, and fish. And while in the kitchen, there is also a section on how to create your own natural skin products from nourishing body butter in January to cooling foot cream in August.

There are suggestions for reading nature writing and a way to connect with others via an online book club using the hashtag #WayBackBookClub. It is very much an introduction for the 21st century naturalist with monthly suggestions of apps and ways to use a smartphone and technology to connect with the natural world.

Following the suggested activities each month is an interview where Melinda talks to a range of people from Mamma Mia writer, Catherine Johnson to theatre dresser, Emilie Lyons about ways they have found it helpful to connect to nature. And at the end of each chapter there is a blank, lined page to write your own notes on what has worked for you.

There is something for everyone here – whether you are thinking about getting closer to nature but don’t know where to start; or have started changing your diet and lifestyle to better reflect the natural rhythms of the season and would like to explore ways of deepening your relationship with nature and share ideas with others.

Author, Melinda Sailsbury is best known for writing young adult novels including the Sin Eater’s Daughter series, the State of Sorrow duology, and Hold Back the Tide. This is her first non-fiction book, and it sparkles with the same curiosity that has made her successful in the YA market.

In all, The Way Back is a lovely book that is a clear response to a genuine passion to get closer to nature. It bursts with suggestions that make it easy to make small steps to seeing life as a natural rhythm and appreciating the wider world, starting from where you are.

The Way Back Almanac 2022 by Melinda Salisbury is published by Watkins priced £12.99.

The post The Way Back Almanac 2022: Book Review appeared first on Quays Life.

Peter became something of a regular on the programme, he would talk about the now late, Ted Hughes, Poet Laureate of whom I knew little apart from the name. Peter soon rectified this!

Peter was obviously a ‘local lad’ to Greater Manchester, proud of his roots, steadfast in his craft, holder of a wicked sense of humour behind twinkling eyes. He was of indeterminate age, a bit of a Peter Pan, and we became friends. He spoke of his ‘rock’, his wife Sandra but little else about his background. This didn’t matter to me as I was more interested in having a poet on the programme!

It was evident that Peter was a welcome contributor to the programme, much liked by the listeners, and I decided to have a word with a colleague, working in different department to me, about the possibility of Peter becoming a ‘Poet in Residence.’ As far as I knew, this had never happened on a BBC local radio station, and I was all for innovation.

I am sure my colleague worked very hard for this to happen, because I was delighted to be told by her that she had secured six months funding for this to happen.

I suppose I can honestly say that the rest is history… Peter embraced and enhanced the role and was soon doing all sort of things for other parts of the BBC.

Media is adroit and fleeting and I moved on to other projects for my programme and Peter and I lost touch. I was thrilled when Peter contacted me again a few years ago and we met up for a coffee, it was a very long coffee break at the Lowry Theatre in Salford Quays as he relayed his travels, experiences and adventures. It was at that meeting that he told me about his recent autism diagnoses and how suddenly, his life in the 1950’s onwards made perfect sense to him and gave him peace.

I had never realised that Peter was on the autism spectrum, nor the fact he was an accomplished sportsman and was fascinated to hear more. He told me that one day he would write a book about those early memories, the light and the shade the heartbreak, bullying, pain and the smiles. I am over joyed that he has done so.

Goalkeeper, takes us as a willing companion on Peter’s journey from his birth in the fifties until around his middle years. As an uncanny coincidence, one of my best friends lives on the very road where Peter spent a great deal of his childhood, so when, in his book, Peter writes about looking out of his bedroom window, I can visualise exactly what his view would have been, but I cannot imagine how his emotional state would have been on some of the days he was at that window.

The book is certainly not ‘a poor me’ rendition of Peter’s life. Peter has a natural humour that shines through, his rendition of his adventures are countless. I am sure ‘Northerners’ who were born in the 50’s will smile at the memories of their own childhood, with ‘syrup of figs’, Dandelion and Burdock, ‘Finney Haddock’ and ‘donkey stoning the steps.’

We meet Peter’s mum, just before she gives birth to Peter, her fierce protective love and determination ensuring that a safe haven is found for them, in Bolton, in the most incongruous of circumstances.
We follow Peter as he grows up, never quite understanding that he is different from his peers. Although friendships were difficult to form, once formed Peter’s loyalty was steadfast.

We share the fascinating pathway of Peter’s relationship with his father and the secrecies and mysteries that surrounded the man, who seemed to know a whole host of famous names. The ‘man’s man’ that encourages his son to embrace ‘non boy subjects’ as well as traditional school subjects. Then there is the door in his father’s house that Peter must not enter… Then we share the day when Peter’s strict ‘father’ becomes Peter’s ‘dad.’

We hold our breath while Peter rides his bike, endures or enjoys his first kiss, and Peter’s initiation into the Hulton Scouts. I recall that in 2006 he even travelled with them to Iceland. Peter has an enduring respect for the Scout Movement and especially for the 20th Scout Group – “they saved me.”
Peter’s mum wanted him to be a Parish Priest but that was not to be .

Peter has held a myriad of jobs; however, his talents began to shine through as a goalkeeper. We read of Peter’s dream, to be a goalkeeper for Bolton Wanderers, will his epilepsy and undiagnosed Autism thwart his dream? Please read the book to find out.

Peter’s life to date has been a paradox, from his middle years he has travelled the world as a poet and visionary… but I guess, that will be food for another book one day!

GOALKEEPER by Peter Street is published by Sponylux Press and is available for pre-sale from Waterstones priced £11.99.

Cate Cullington talks about her debut novel The Stones

The post Goalkeeper: Memoir of Poet Peter Street (Games, Secrets, Epilepsy & Love) – Book Review appeared first on Quays Life.

Robinson was awarded the T.S. Eliot Prize and the RSL Ondaatje Prize for his 2019 poetry collection, A Portable Paradise, which included powerful poems about the Grenfell disaster, being Black British in the UK, and fatherhood.

The new poems, written in prose especially for the Manchester Literature Festival, also cover social issues relating to the Black British experience, putting an historical context onto a contemporary setting, with references to the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.

“Poets are dangerous”, says Roger Robinson, “because they make people feel things. They take the hard things and put them in a form people can empathise with.”

In a world where opinion is often not just divided but divisive, Robinson brings a human touch to debate. In his hands the hard issues not inflammatory, they are real. Robinson doesn’t simply tell us about the pervasive negative effects of racism, he helps us feel it.

As he describes it, poetry is an ‘empathy machine’. And it’s his job to change opinions not through argument, but by making people feel what it is like to experience what he describes as an ‘internalisation of racism’ which happens in quieter moments.

The event is hosted by Roger Robinson’s good friend and fellow poet, Malika Booker. The pair set up Malika’s poetry kitchen in 2001, a writer’s collective to nurture the talent of new poets.

Their decades of friendship make for good rapport during the interview. They want it to feel like the audience is eavesdropping on a conversation with friends and in many ways that’s what it’s like.
There is no pretence. This is the first time Robinson has performed this new work and Booker gives her reaction. For her the silences within them are a strong feature. Was Robinson aware of this as he was writing? ‘No’.

Immediately for the audience this brings the realisation of how the artist has little control over people’s perceptions of their work once it is in the public domain. It also frees them to join in with their responses in the chat – there is no right or wrong in our response to art.

Following from the new work, the conversation turns to a broader look at Robinson’s life and work. We hear about his early life in Trinidad, steeped in oral storytelling traditions of his family. He talks about balancing life as an artist with life as a father to a young son and the challenges of home schooling. And because the interview is done as a video call to his home, we also get to browse his bookshelves as Robinson picks up book after book off the shelf behind him, talking enthusiastically about his recent reads.

His passion is infectious and with it comes a generosity as he celebrates his work, the work of other and shares writing tips. As Robinson recognises, no-one becomes successful on their own, but through the support of a massive community, and we all have a part to play in supporting those who support us. It’s a vital message of connection for our times.

The interview was pre-recorded, which meant there was no opportunity for direct audience interaction and questioning that comes with a live event. However, it was interesting to see the audience interact with each other through the chat. The recording also means the event is fully captioned for accessibility and is available to watch again for anyone who signs up within the 7-days it is available on Chromecast.

Roger Robinson Hosted by Malika Booker is available to watch from 25 March – 1 April 2021. The event is pre-recorded and captioned. The short collection of poems is one of a series of New Commissions supported by an award from the DCMS Culture Recovery Fund and presented in partnership with the Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester.

Read: Alex Wheatle – I’ve always just tried to express that love is more powerful than hate

The post ‘Poets are dangerous’ – Roger Robinson performs his new commission in conversation with Malika Booker appeared first on Quays Life.