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Book club

August 01 2023

Ready yourselves for new reading material, as the Pavement previews two new titles centred on experiences of homelessness and mental health problems


The front cover of Beggar Bee Nameless © Tasmin Briers


Beggar Bee Nameless
by Stephen K Easterbrook

Billed as a literary fiction novel, Beggar Bee Nameless is the latest title released by Arkbound Publishing, an independent publisher based in Glasgow and Bristol. Author Stephen K Easterbrook is from Manchester, and has set his debut novel in the city.

The story focuses on the homeless community in Manchester, as a Deceased Affairs Officer investigates the death of a man who had been sleeping rough. Rather than surrender to gloom and despair, however, Beggar Bee Nameless explores a wide-ranging number of themes, including friendship and human spirit.

Readers are introduced to a homeless friend of the deceased, Gracie, and we follow her on a journey through the homeless community of Manchester. The book also takes place at the height of the spice epidemic which affected so many homeless people in Manchester.
Readers of the Pavement interested in Beggar Bee Nameless can read a review of the book in the next issue of the magazine. The book is released 20 August 2023.



The front cover of Transmissions, featuring artwork by Chris Bird
© the Pavement


Transmissions
by Chris Bird

A must-have book released by the Write-London collective in June 2023. Chris Bird, whose art and words often grace the pages of the Pavement, has had a collection of his art, poetry and short stories published.

Regular readers of the Pavement will be well aware of Chris’s exceptional storytelling and brilliant art. The book, titled Transmissions, is ideal for long-term fans of Chris, and is the perfect introduction to people previously unaware of his work.

Many of the poems and stories touch on Chris’s experience of homelessness, mental health problems and substance abuse. The book is edited by Tom Mallender and Naino Masindet. Mellander summarises the experience of editing the book and working with Chris in a short editor’s note prefacing the book:

“Assisting Chris to tell his story in his words, and to bring to life the London he experienced while in the twin grip of undiagnosed schizophrenia and heroin addiction, has been one of the most rewarding and artistically interesting [projects] I have been a part of.”

Read an exclusive excerpt from Transmissions by Chris Bird below:


Smoke

I thought about the city skyline.
Tower blocks, spires, skyscrapers and domes
scratched out on the side of a lit cigarette.
Grey shadows became ashes, wide swerving entities
of smoke stretching away like autobahns.
If you watch the embers long enough,
the strength of heroin overwhelms.

I pulled out a broken fag from my pocket.
Laid some cardboard on the pavement and sat.
The traffic choked the wide avenue.
Tube stations gorged on commuters.
Junkies filling up with grey smoke.
This was my skyline.




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