I am a writer, lecturer and professor of English and cultural history at Liverpool John Moores University. My most recent books are Queuing for Beginners (2007), a cultural history of daily habits since the war, inspired in part by the Mass-Observation surveys of the 1930s and 1940s: On Roads: A Hidden History (2009); and Armchair Nation: An Intimate History of Britain in Front of the TV (2013). As well as publishing articles in obscure academic journals, I write for the Guardian, the New Statesman, the Financial Times and other publications. I am a literary and cultural historian focusing on the very recent past, with a particular interest in the everyday. My latest book is Shrinking Violets: A Field Guide to Shyness (Profile 2016), which was published in February 2017 in a revised North American edition by Yale University Press as Shrinking Violets: The Secret Life of Shyness.
This website is an archive of the writing I have done over the years, assembled in an effort to persuade myself that I haven't been entirely wasting my time. 'A luxurious task, this cobbling up of ancient toil,' as Ronald Blythe puts it.
My banner image is by the wonderful Czech artist and children's illustrator, Miroslav Sasek. As Sasek died in 1980 without an heir, it is difficult to determine who holds the rights to his work, but no copyright infringement is intended. All the other images on this site are either my own or are marked for non-commercial reuse on Google Images.
I hope you enjoy my site and find something of interest on it.
My old blog is archived here.
Much enjoyed the article on milk bars whilst searching for information on The Partisan where I hung out in 59′-61 when I first went to live in London.
great, thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
I went to your talk about shyness, and it gave me an appreciation of my own. Thanks so much. It has made me see my 'strangenesses' in a new light.
You, who I dare say can be rendered inarticulate in certain situations, are so exceedingly articulate when in front of an audience.
thanks Val – really pleased you enjoyed the talk. Thanks so much for coming.
I checked out Shrinking Violets after reading your article in the Guardian and I loved it. You have many great insights on the paradoxical power of shyness and its relation to the production of art, and how nonparticipation can enable an acute sense of perception that can decipher others' interactions with sociological precision, or, if improperly managed, can turn insular and distort one's sense of self until it feels performative and fantastical. I've long believed that art is a means of giving expression to feelings that would otherwise be too shameful or monstrous or trivial to mention in a conversation, even with an intimate friend. I'm writing a novel that also deals with isolation and the neuroses that arise from loneliness, and you've helped me understand better why my own characters act the way they do.
Thanks Alex. Thanks for reading the book and I'm really pleased you enjoyed it. Good luck with the novel and glad it helped.
I loved your recent article on slow reading in The Guardian (15/9/2018). And the phrase "the obdurate otherness of another person's mind" resonated especially strongly with me!
I much appreciated your article on reading slowly. It well reflects my approach in writing fiction, where I've tried to slow the reading of it. As a reader, while also enjoying the occasional 'page turner', the phrase often makes me feel a little sick. It's this apparent wish to get to the end of something quickly, which to my mind has undertones of being involved with/in something of no great value.
Thanks John – kind of you to write.
Joe: I have not read your other articles and books (yet), but I certainly will. I was given your book, First You Write a Sentence, last Friday. I am devouring it, but savoring it at the same time. I read and re-read some of your sentences 6-8 times. It is nourishment for the soul. I am beginning to appreciate the part of my inner self that desires to create. I have something to say.
Thank you Joe and thank you to the person who gave me your book. I am indebted.
Thanks Bradley! That's very kind of you. Sorry about the delay in replying.
Joe, I just finished your new book 'First You Write A Sentence', and I must say that I like it a lot. Not only is it informative but also an example of great writing. Can you recommend authors with similar writing styles, authors you like reading or appreciate as a writer? I am particularly interested in non-fiction writers whose style feels modern and fresh.