The Lowry Lounge 2013

The Bluecoat continued its celebration of Malcolm Lowry with a fourth Lounge, exploring and celebrating the life and work of the Wirral-born writer.

26 October 2013

The programme took place entirely on site at the arts centre and included a sound work and film screening, and talks on Lowry's connections to Herman Melville, the writings of his first wife Jan Gabrial, establishing a Lowry archive, and the significance for Lowry of the Mexican Day of the Dead.

Along with his collection of Malcolm Lowry books, New Brighton-based writer Michael Carson made a generous donation to the Bluecoat of items from his Lowry collection, including this sculptural work - a wooden oar inscribed with text locating Lowry in his hometown. Michael inserted a series of discreet plaques, made in a similar vein, into the seaside town's public realm, a comment on the absence of any official memorial to its most famous literary son. The oar is currently on display at the Bluecoat alongside another donation that it references, a framed poster for John Huston's film version of Under the Volcano.
New Brighton-based writer Michael Carson made a generous donation to the Bluecoat of his collection of Malcolm Lowry books, along with other items including one of his own sculptural works - a wooden oar inscribed with text locating Lowry in his hometown.