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| Will Buckley and Sarah Wardle are both keen football fans and here explore this great British obsession. Will talks about how it is reflected in our literature generally while Sarah takes on football, poetry and fiction. |
| Sports journalism in the UK is in a great state. The broadsheets are producing their own supplements, the tabloids have some fantastic writers and even the fanzines are going strong. Kevin Mitchell looks at exactly where it's at. Meanwhile Hunter Davies offers an overview of footballing biographies and how they have changed over the years. |
| Although some may argue that sport and politics aren’t a comfortable mix, in the end it’s hard to keep the two separate. Simon Kuper examines the ties that bind literature, politics and sport while Liz Crolley explores issues around women in sports writing. |
| Poet Ian McMillan had an inspired idea and talked Barnsley Football Club into helping him to achieve his goal. Here he talks about being the first poet-in-residence at a British football club. |
| Jim Sells from the Literacy Trust is manager of the Reading the Game project that aims to get young people into books through their love of football. Further details of that initiative can be found here. |
| Tim Parks has written on sport in both his fiction and non-fiction. Here he explores the dramatic impact of sporting thrills and spills in literature. |
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House of Football and Culture |
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by Marijke Brouwer
(Literature Manager, British Council Berlin) |
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The British Council in Germany recently ran a project profiling football and literature. Here, British Council organiser Marijke Brouwer talks about the impact of this stunning event.
Is there any connection at all between football and culture? And what about football and identity? Inspired by the forthcoming 2006 football world cup, the British Council in Germany hosted The House of Football and Culture festival - an attempt to explore the role of football in defining British and German national identities. Authors, poets, former footballers and fans were all invited to contribute to this exhilarating, challenging and sometimes controversial debate.
Events kicked off with a day of football festivities that included a football tournament, a fan memorabilia exchange and a screening of England’s World Cup qualifier against Wales. The day concluded with performance poets Vic Lambrusco from London and Ahne from Berlin, who brought all the passion of the terraces onto the stage. Female football writers Anne Coddington and Nicole Selmer talked about the increasing popularity football has among women in both Germany and the UK. And throughout the week Sarah Wardle, Tottenham Hotspur’s poet-in-residence, provided poetic inspiration, composing and presenting poems inspired by the programme.
The House of Football and Culture also hosted two former internationals, Tony Woodcock and Fredi Bobic, who discussed their careers as professional footballers. Both players have worked in England and Germany and talked candidly about differences in coaching mentality and training methods between the two countries. Even the great Pelé made an appearance – in mosaic form – created by children who participated in a lively football art workshop.
The second half of the week was devoted to football and fiction. Will Buckley, reading from his book The Man who Hated Football, touched on the more sinister elements of the sport – how the game has encouraged unhealthy national obsessions and the role of media monopolies. Scottish authors Chris Dolan and Paul Cuddihy, also editor of the Celtic View magazine, discussed the importance of football in the Scottish psyche, exploring diverse issues including the tricky relationship between Scotland and England and the interactions between Catholic and Protestant communities. The final evening of the festival was dedicated to the football fan. Tim Parks read from A Season with Verona, his gripping account of a year supporting Hellas Verona in the Italian Serie A. Alongside the readings, discussions and debates, a specially programmed film festival was held, where football fans could indulge themselves in a series of films all about their favourite sport.
Finally, mention must go to Northern Ireland, for providing the shock of the week. If ever a reminder was needed of the importance of football to the identity of its fans, surely the passionate scenes following the match in which they beat England 1 – 0 provided it. And it is precisely this passion that inspires the relationship between football, culture and its fans.
Roll on the 2006 World Cup! |
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