Lost Levenshulme II

I have a new publication out.

The first issue of Lost Levenshulme was put together last year as a kind of experimental local history zine, something that sits somewhere between research, memory, folklore and creative place-based writing. The second issue, created for Levenshulme Old Library, builds on that idea again, drawing together contributions from local writers, photographers and volunteers who all approach Levenshulme, an area in South Manchester, from different angles.

As with the first edition, the aim wasn’t to produce a definitive or authoritative account of the area, but to explore the ways people live with and think about the history, landscape and small details of the neighbourhood. Some of the pieces engage directly with known historical facts and records, others work more speculatively, tracing half-remembered stories, overlooked spaces or fragments of local experience that don’t usually make it into formal archives.

This issue includes a long piece on the ancient waterways that run beneath local streets, a photo essay on the act of getting lost in your own neighbourhood, an essay exploring Levenshulme through the lens of 1950s noir cinema locations, a short story set in one of the local parks and a piece connected to the mysterious “Secret Lake”.

What I’ve found most rewarding about editing Lost Levenshulme II is the enthusiasm and generosity of the contributors and the sense that there is no shortage of material to work with when you start paying attention to the everyday textures of a place. The project grows out of a simple belief that not only Levenshulme but really any neighbourhoods like Levenshulme hold as much cultural and imaginative richness as anywhere else, even if they aren’t always treated that way.

Copies have already been flying out locally so if you’re interested in getting your hands on a copy I’d recommend moving quickly.