Books / weston super mare
Bristol writer to tell tales of Weston-super-Mare’s high street
Tales of Weston-super-Mare’s high street will be explored as part of a project by Historic England.
High Street Tales, which is being run in collaboration with Literature Works, sees stories past and present told by local writers.
Weston-super-Mare’s main shopping street will be documented by Bristol-based Rebecca Tantony, who will be collecting stories, memories and anecdotes throughout the winter.
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“The project aims to capture the everyday magic that plays out on high streets across the country and to consider what the future of our high streets might be,” say the team at Literature Works.
Rebecca will research online, speak to people living in the South West town and celebrate the high street’s role in town life, both right now and into the future.
The High Street Heritage Action Zone in Weston-super-Mare. Image: Crown Copyright and database right 2020. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900
Rebecca will host two online creative writing workshops with people from the Weston area to explore individual stories and the role of the waterside town in those tales.
“From donkey rides as a child, The Tropicana as a teenager, to teaching there as an adult, Weston-super-Mare will always be an important place for me: full of memories and full of future,” says Rebecca.“I’m so excited to explore this ongoing relationship further.”
Having taught performance poetry and creative writing to students at Bath Spa University, and having been Lyra‘s poet in residence and performed at Bristol Harbour Festival, Rebecca is deeply ingrained within the South West.
She is is one of seven writers working on High Street Tales across the country, with one creative working in each region.
At the end of the project, the writers’ short stories will be published as an ebook, audiobook and podcast series.
Rebecca will work in Weston-super-Mare in December 2020 and January 2021. Image: Literature Works/Ash Holdsworth
“We’re delighted to be working in Weston-super-Mare and are looking forward to seeing the High Street Tale that Rebecca will write,” says Helen Chaloner, chief executive of Literature Works.
“The project is an inspired way of giving voice to local people’s experience of their town, showcased in words by a writer who has spent time connecting with them.”
Main photo: Jamie Corbin
Read more: Interview: Rebecca Tantony
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