3rd Jun 2009 12:00pm-6:30pm
Sallis Benney Theatre
‘Man of the moment’ David Peace is the author of The Damned Utd, described by The Times as "probably the best book ever written about sport" and the subject of a film starring Michael Sheen.
Peace is perhaps most famous for his Red Riding Quartet - comprised of Nineteen Seventy Four, Nineteen Seventy Seven, Nineteen Eighty and Nineteen Eighty Three – which was adapted for Channel 4.
As well as beginning an inverse, post-war trilogy in GB84, Peace has published the first in his new Tokyo trilogy – Tokyo Year Zero – with Occupied City and Tokyo Regained published in 2009 and 2011 respectively. Peace has won the James Tait Black Memorial Award and was included on Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists 2003.
This Faber & Faber sponsored symposium provided an exciting and challenging critical introduction to the work of David Peace. Through a detailed analysis of his work, as well as the socio-cultural contexts of its production and dissemination, it explored Peace’s attempts to capture the sensibilities of twentieth century society. Peace is an emerging author who is widely read and taught and whose novels are increasingly translated into commercial film (The Damned United, March 2009) and television (Channel 4 adaptation of the Red Riding Quartet, original airdate: March 2009).
This symposium brought together scholars to consolidate and advance the critical work currently underway on Peace’s writings. The symposium was the first event of its kind concerning this rising star of contemporary British literature.
