A HISTORY OF HACKNEY: CENTERPRISE'S YOUNG WRITERS
AUDIO TRAIL
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"Much has been written about the East End of London – academics have studied it, the media have caricatured it - but nothing that can have remained as faithful to detail and human spirit as resident's own recollections"
- Labour Weekly
Welcome to this audio trail charting the history of some of Centerprise's young writers. Centerprise pioneered the publication of young people writing about themselves and their situations.
Centerprise was a groundbreaking community centre in Hackney. In 1971, Hackney was home to over 20,000 people, and yet the borough had almost no independents bookshops or cultural centers; Centerprise opened that same year. The centre hosted a bookshop, publishing project, reading centre, café, youth club, creche and more all under one roof in Dalston. It was not only a place to buy books or drink coffee; it made it possible for local people, young and old, to write and publish their own works of poetry, autobiography and history. The Guardian described this publishing project as one of the most important cultural initiatives ever to have existed in London’s East End.
This audio trail will look at the early years of Centerprise and its publishing project. The trail will included poetry, short story excerpts and oral interviews with those who remember it in the 70s and 80s.
The audio trail is just over one mile long and will take about seventy minutes to complete. Please download the map and all audio tracks before you begin the trail. Your first stop will be just in front of AllPress Café and Roastery, 55 Dalston Lane. Please watch out for cars, trucks, bikes and other pedestrians as you make your way around Hackney. I hope you enjoy the trail.
Directions:
From Dalston Junction station
Exit Dalston Junction station onto Dalston Lane. Cross the road and turn right, walking past the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden to your left. Continue walking along Dalston Lane, until you reach Allpress Café and Roastery, 55 Dalston Lane. Stop here and press the first audio track.
From Dalston Kingsland station
Exit Dalston Kingsland station and turn right along Kingsland High Street. When you reach the junction, take a left onto Dalston Lane. Continue walking, past the Hackney Archives and Dalston Eastern Curve Garden until you reach Allpress Café and Roastery, 55 Dalston Lane. Stop here and press the first audio track.
AUDIO TRAIL
If you have access to internet, the audio trail can be played from Soundcloud directly. If not, you will need to download the eight audio files from the SoundCloud links below and save them onto an mp3 player or phone. They should only take a few minutes to download.
MAP
Please download (right-click and save image) or print this map to direct your way on this audio trail.
You can also follow the google map with pinpoints at all stops, if you
would prefer.
