Author

Publication

2019 - Penguin Random House

Language

English

Word Count

20,000 words, Guess

Page Count

80 pages

Identifiers

  • Open LibraryOL28709594M
  • ISBN-139781784742614
  • ISBN-101784742619
  • OCLC Control Number1053986914
  • Better World Books9781784742614

Classifications

  • LCCPR6102
  • LCCPR6102.E753 A6 2019

Description

Jay Bernard's extraordinary debut is a fearlessly original exploration of the black British archive: an enquiry into the New Cross Fire of 1981, a house fire at a birthday party in south London in which thirteen young black people were killed. Dubbed the 'New Cross Massacre', the fire was initially believed to be a racist attack, and the indifference with which the tragedy was met by the state triggered a new era of race relations in Britain. Tracing a line from New Cross to the 'towers of blood' of the Grenfell fire, this urgent collection speaks with, in and of the voices of the past, brought back by the incantation of dancehall rhythms and the music of Jamaican patois, to form a living presence in the absence of justice. A ground-breaking work of excavation, memory and activism - both political and personal, witness and documentary - Surge shines a much-needed light on an unacknowledged chapter in British history, one that powerfully resonates in our present moment.

Subjects

Other Editions

  • SurgePenguin Random House2019

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