Iain Sinclair Talk at Foyles Bookshop

Earlier this week I went along to Foyles Bookshop on Charing Cross Road to listen to Iain Sinclair in conversation with Patrick Wright. I'm not familiar with Patrick Wright's work (he's a writer, broadcaster and academic) but I've read some of Iain Sinclair's books, including London Orbital, which chronicles a journey he made around the M25 and the stories behind the places he passes through. He packs alot of information in to his writing and tends to jump from topic to topic (although always in a very knowledgeable way) so it can be hard to follow his chain of thought sometimes. Having recently read and really enjoyed an interesting article he wrote about cycling for the London Review of Books I have decided that his writing is probably best appreciated in small doses.

Iain read extracts from his new book, Ghost Milk, which will be published in July. This is based around the impact of the 2012 Olympics although judging from the write-up about it on his website, it draws in a wide range of other issues too. He and Patrick also discussed a number of other London and Olympic-related topics including the way Hackney has changed over the years (not positively in their view: 'Now everything that was interesting about [Dalston Lane] has been destroyed or is under threat.') and the relationship between China and the West. I'm not sure that I agree with everything that was said but Ghost Milk looks like it should be another interesting book for anyone interested in the past, present and future of London.

The talk was part of the Listen*Read*See London programme of events that Foyles are running this week. That particular programme finishes tomorrow but Foyles hold regular free events at their Charing Cross Road branch and a few events at some of their other branches too. As well as talks from novelists and other writers, they have jazz in the cafe there a few times a week. You need to reserve a place in advance for the talks but I like the fact that this means you don't need to worry about turning up ages in advance to secure a place which can sometimes be the case with free events. I've already booked a place to hear Evan Davis talk about his perspective on the British economy in a couple of weeks time.