Working-class writing and publishing in the late-twentieth century
This is a unique study of working class writing and community publishing. It evaluates the largely unexamined history of the emergence and development of working class writing and publishing workshops since the 1970s. The nature of working class writing is assessed in relation to the work of young people, older people, adult literacy students as well as writing workshops. Key themes and tensions in working class writing are explored in relation to historical and literary frameworks. This is the first in-depth study of this body of writing. In addition, a number of crucial debates are examined, for example, over class and identity, critical pedagogy and learning, the relationships with audiences, the role of mainstream cultural institutions in comparison with alternatives. The contradictions and tensions in all these areas are surveyed in coming to a historical understanding of this topic.