IN BRIEF
WIRRAL WRITER TO BE
HONOURED
Malcolm Lowry (1909-57), author of the classic modern
novel Under the Volcano, is to be honoured by Wirral
Council with a Blue Plaque in his birthplace of New
Brighton.
The heritage plaque, to be unveiled this summer on Lowry’s birthday,
28 July, will be positioned on the sea wall looking out to the Mersey
Estuary, a resonant site for a writer whose voyages took him across
the oceans. The honour comes during Wirral’s year as Liverpool City
Region Borough of Culture. The son of a Liverpool cotton broker,
Lowry grew up exploring the Deeside of the Wirral, when the family
moved to Caldy. He left Merseyside at an early age, but the topography
of his childhood - beaches, woods, golf courses and lighthouses, set
against the backdrop of North Wales - is vividly recalled in his writing.
Lowry studied literature at Cambridge, before leaving England for an
eventful life in Europe, America, Mexico and Canada, where he settled,
living in a squatter’s shack on the Burrard Inlet, north of Vancouver
with his second wife Margerie Bonner. Here, during the Second World
War, he completed his great novel Under the Volcano, set in Mexico as
the world headed towards war. Structured around a single day – the
Day of the Dead - in 1938, in the life of an alcoholic British ex-consul,
the book is a richly layered meditation on the human condition and a
portrayal of self-destruction.
Published in 1947, the book was hailed as a modern masterpiece and
continues to be listed among the most significant novels of the 20th
century. In 1984, it was adapted by John Huston for a film starring
the late Albert Finney as the consul. In his life, Lowry had only one
other book published, Ultramarine (1933), based on his voyage as a
young deckhand, sailing from Birkenhead Docks to the Far East.
He left several unfinished books, short stories and poems, many of
which were published posthumously. Though Lowry never returned
to Merseyside, his childhood haunts inform his writing, not least in
his ‘lost’ novel, In Ballast to the White Sea, set largely in Wirral and
Liverpool, and published in a scholarly edition in 2014.
The plaque will be unveiled on Sunday 28 July at 2pm by the Mayor
and Mayoress of Wirral, Councillor Tony Smith and Mrs Barbara
Smith on the New Brighton Promenade (opposite Marine Point
security office).
12 wirrallife.com
WIRRAL FESTIVAL OF FIRSTS
ANNOUNCES 10 DAYS OF
UNMISSABLE EVENTS
Wirral Festival of Firsts is hosting 10 days of unmissable
exhibitions, performances and live music events from 5th
to 14th July 2019 across Wirral and Liverpool, in support
of Wirral's year as the Liverpool City Region's Borough
of Culture.
Linda Gardiner, Chair of Wirral Festival of Firsts said: "There is an
action packed programme of free and ticketed events.
"Opening the event are festival favourites Kabantu performing a new
live set and Liverpool based Teatro Pomodoro are doing the world
première of their new show, A Fish Out of Water: A Shipwrecked
Odyssey.
"Maya Jazz brings a fusion of Balkan and South Indian Carnatic music
to West Kirby and we are really excited to welcome poet laureate Luke
Wright and celebrated author Mike Haskins to our line up."
Linda added: "Manoeuvres will also be performing a unique gig in the
home of their idols OMD and Off The Ground Youth Theatre present
'Magnificent' - an outdoors play to entertain the whole family.
"There's children's art, the Map Project - a collaboration of Wirral
based artists with artists from across the world, wood carving, Scottish
dancing and an affordable art sale.
"Also taking place on Saturday 6 July from 11am - 4pm is the Hoylake
Street Festival featuring all kinds of attractions including drama,
Scottish jive, live music from a host of local bands, street theatre, art
and craft workshops, open studios, a razzle dazzle piano, face painting,
wishing flags, yoga, story telling and much much more."
To find out more and view the full events programme, visit
www.wirralfestivaloffirsts.org.uk.