Regenerating Regional Culture: A Study of the International Book Town Movement (Sociology of the Arts)

This book explores the significance of the international book town movement and its impact on contemporary society. It examines how book towns have emerged and how their culture and unique characteristics help to explain a steadily growing phenomenon that has enabled peripheral communities around the world to reclaim their economic futures and impact on the cultural sphere as increasingly powerful sites and sources of creativity. __Regenerating Regional Culture__ assesses why, at a time when the book industry is experiencing a profound transformation, book towns are proliferating in Europe and across the globe. It acknowledges the role of the book as a catalyst for this significant cultural activity and development. The book is shown to be a unique and pivotal item of cultural consumption, a remarkable artefact and, more than ever before, a springboard for contemporary cultural debate. This work investigates how the reanimation of these ‘down-on-their-luck’ towns is attracting, through a combination of nostalgia, history and cultural heritage, a growing middle class cohort who seek both intellectual stimulation and opportunities for serious leisure and wellbeing. This book will prove to be a useful resource for understanding the impacts of book towns on art, culture and society while also offering insightful research for those involved in existing or future development of book towns and other community cultural projects. Acknowledgements 7 Contents 9 About the Author 10 List of Figures 11 Introduction 12 Starting Points 19 Outline of Chapters 27 References 32 1: Book Towns: Expanding Literary Connections 35 What Is a Book Town? 35 Why Are Book Towns Proliferating Across the Globe? 39 Print and Book Culture 40 Tony Seaton: Book Towns and Tourism 44 Cultural Tourists/Post-tourists 47 Clusters of Books 50 Networked Book Towns in Europe 52 The IOB and International Networks 55 Ideological Agendas Inspiring Book Town Formation 57 References 63 Interviews 67 2: Hay-on-Wye: ‘A Town of Travellers Who Stopped’ 68 Booth: Destined for a Life in Books 69 An Economy of Poverty 71 Revival of Self-Sufficiency 73 The Role of the Eccentric Entrepreneur 76 The First Book Town: A Fantasy Kingdom 78 Local, Global and Book Sector Changes Help Build an Empire 80 The Hay Festival: Universally Acclaimed but Detested by Hay’s Secondhand Booksellers 84 Two Separate Worlds: New and Secondhand Books 89 Why Hay-on-Wye Can’t Easily Be Replicated 92 References 95 Interviews 97 3: Slow Books: Book Towns as Third Places 98 Bookshops as Community Hubs 99 Book Town Festivals: ‘A Core Piece of Goodness’ 102 Dark Skies and Community Ownership at the Heart of the 2012 Wigtown Book Festival Programme 105 The Search for More Meaningful Travel Experiences 108 Book Towns as Ethical Travel Choices 113 Landscape, Heritage and the Search for Lifestyle and Community Identity 119 Featherston: A Book Town Drawing on Its Past to Enable the Future 120 Heritage and the Lure of the Hinterland 126 Grey Nomads: Slow Retirement 132 References 135 Interviews 142 4: Edge-of-the-Map Locations: Outposts of Sustainable Culture 144 Book Towns, Image and Tourism 150 Potential Problems Posed by Distinctive Themed Town Identities 155 Non-Book Lovers: The Multiplier Effect as Appeasement 159 The Clunes Booktown Festival: Event Tourism and Regional Sustainability 164 Sedbergh: A Sustainable Centre of Excellence for Literature 170 Regional Centres of Culture, or Just Places That Sell Books? 177 References 187 Interviews 194 5: Sacred Objects and Magic Encyclopaedias: Books in Book Towns 195 McMurtryville: An Oasis of Books in Texas 196 Books as Unique Commodities 200 Straight-Grained Morocco and Sprinkled Calf: The Cult of Book Collecting 202 Books, Ownership and Self 204 Old Books and Their Capacity to Reawaken the Past 209 Old Books Were Once New Books 215 References 221 Interviews 225 6: Occasional Errata: Book Towns That Fail or Falter 226 Book Towns That Might Have Been: Blaenafon and Atherstone 229 Graiguenamanagh: Almost Ireland’s Book Town 236 Fading Book Town Leaders 242 Booksellers: The Last of the Bohemians 246 Generational Change in Book Towns 250 Book Towns Grow Out of Need 257 References 260 Interviews 263 7: Book Towns: An Unfolding Story 264 References 272 Interviews 273 References 274 Interviews 300 Ephemera 301 Index 302 Front Matter ....Pages i-xxxvii Book Towns: Expanding Literary Connections (Jane Frank)....Pages 1-33 Hay-on-Wye: ‘A Town of Travellers Who Stopped’ (Jane Frank)....Pages 35-64 Slow Books: Book Towns as Third Places (Jane Frank)....Pages 65-110 Edge-of-the-Map Locations: Outposts of Sustainable Culture (Jane Frank)....Pages 111-161 Sacred Objects and Magic Encyclopaedias: Books in Book Towns (Jane Frank)....Pages 163-193 Occasional Errata: Book Towns That Fail or Falter (Jane Frank)....Pages 195-232 Book Towns: An Unfolding Story (Jane Frank)....Pages 233-242 Back Matter ....Pages 243-285 Annotation This volume explores the significance of the international book town movement and its impact on contemporary society. It examines how book towns have emerged and how their culture and unique characteristics help to explain a steadily growing phenomenon that has enabled peripheral communities around the world to reclaim their economic futures and impact on the cultural sphere as increasingly powerful sites and sources of creativity