Somewhat delayed by various capers, here we are at last: the Coast of Teeth book launch on June 30th, 7-8.30pm, Eldon Building room 1.11
Writer Tom Sykes and illustrator Louis Netter take you on a Gonzo tour of 21 English coastal communities in an age of anxiety and absurdity. Their encounters are comical, sad, weird and beguiling – sometimes all at once. A post-lockdown beach party turns violent in Bournemouth. The Hampshire shores pile up with plastic waste and sewage dumped by a water company. St Osyth and Jaywick’s makeshift homes resemble a Global Southern shanty town. Covid disinformation is daubed on walls and benches across the Dorset coast. A pub in Scarborough celebrates Ulster paramilitarism. Portsmouthians come to terms with the imperial past. A Blackpudlian musician confesses an intimate connection to the serial killer Harold Shipman. A St Ives youth is rendered temporarily homeless by the G7 conference.
But there’s good news too. Combers and mudlarkers are cleaning our beaches. Art projects are drawing attention to coastal erosion and other eco-menaces. In a uniform England of red-brick estates and retail parks, seaside towns might just be our last outposts of eccentricity and individuality.
So put a knotted handkerchief on your head, crack open a warm beer and dive into Coast of Teeth.
The event is free, but please book here.
Tom Sykes 