Beat 2 – Towered Cities and the Hum of Men
The title is taken from a a poem by the 17th century poet, John Milton. We felt it summed up the two cities we find ourselves dually based in. This issue of Beat contains a selection of licenced excerpts and collected writing about the cities of London and New York. It includes authors such as Chuck Palahnuik, David Sedaris, Bret Easton Ellis, Martin Amis and Zadie Smith as well as overheard snippets of conversation, the obituary of the woman who invented the London A to Z and an article about Vivienne Westwood from The Telegraph. We took the opportunity to give the Artists texts that they might not normally be chosen for, as a chance and opportunity to challenge any preconceptions of the work of the Artists. Laura Carlin illustrating American Pyscho is a case in point.
Cover artwork by Roderick Mills
Artwork by Lara Harwood
‘City of Angels’ a short story by David Sedaris talks of a visit to New York by ‘Bonnie’ an American from North Carolina.
Artwork by Roderick Mills
Catherine Austin Alexander reminisces about the sights and scenes of 74th Street. One of many stories published in ‘I Thought My Father was God and Other True Tales’ from NPR’s National Story Project.
Artwork by Jonny Hannah
A dictated recollection from one of Darrel’s friends, of life in Brooklyn in the 1930s.
Artwork by Scott Garrett
An excerpt from ‘London: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd. What lies below London’s streets; hippopotami, elephants, buffalos, brown bears, sharks and more…
Artwork by Laura Carlin
An extract from Pyscho by Bret Easton Ellis. Patrick Bateman complains to his dry cleaner of the blood stains still evident on his sheets.
Artwork by Shonagh Rae
John in the Shakespeare pub, from ‘Money’ by Martin Amis.
Artwork by Lucinda Rogers
‘Bones, New York City’ by Joseph Lieber. A born and bred New Yorker, now living in Boston, tells of the pain and confusion he felt after hearing about the 9/11 attack. From ‘Before and After: Stories from New York’ Edited by Thomas Beller, Mr Beller’s Neighborhood Books.
