Marx and the Windrush Generation at the British Library in 2018

The British Library, in London, will hold in 2018 two exhibitions on two themes that have been crucial in my recent work!

London, I'll definitely see you in the spring!

2018 at the British Library:

https://www.bl.uk/press-releases/2017/november/2018-at-the-british-library

Karl and Eleanor Marx 

Treasures Gallery display 

(1 May 2018 to 5 August 2018)

As part of the commemorations of the 200th anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, this Treasures Gallery display will explore the role the British Museum Reading Room, a predecessor institution of the British Library, played in the life and work of Marx and his daughter Eleanor, a notable writer and political activist in her own right. 

The display will include correspondence by Marx, his family and Friedrich Engels, covering both personal and political affairs, as well as rare copies of first editions of Marx’s writings, several of which he himself donated to the Library.  Among these is a copy of the first French translation of Capital, which is believed to feature annotations in Marx’s own hand.

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See our Young Karl Marx' trailer:

Poster for France:

The film will most probably be shown in London on May 5th, 2018.

I'll keep you posted!

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Windrush 

(1 June 2018 to 21 October 2018)

Next year marks 70 years since the Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks in Essex carrying hundreds of Caribbean migrants to Britain. It also marks the passing of the British Nationality Act, which established common citizenship and enabled all British subjects to settle in Britain.

Through literature, personal correspondence and official reports – from a 1940s suppressed report detailing labour protests and rebellions across the Caribbean to E.R. Braithwaite’s annotated typescript of To Sir, With Love – this free Entrance Hall Gallery exhibition will explore the significance of the arrival of the Windrush within a broader narrative of Caribbean history.  

Though the arrival of the Windrush was initially met with fear-mongering and prejudice, the ship has since come to symbolise the origins of British multiculturalism. This exhibition, however, will tell a different and deeper story of Caribbean people’s struggles for self-expression and recognition across the 20th century. 

We are delighted to announce that we will be exhibiting Andrea Levy’s manuscript of her award-winning 2004 book Small Island. The novel was loosely based on the experiences of Levy’s parents, who emigrated to Britain from Jamaica in 1948, and the manuscript will be displayed alongside other items her father brought with him on the Windrush.

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My book on Bristol deals deeply into the issue:

It will be out in the UK from April 9th, 2018.

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See you there, friends!