"Examining regional accents and our attitudes to them
are a way of peering into Britain's soul. I can't wait for this book" ?
Sathnam Sanghera
Spake: Dialect and Voices from the West Midlands
with contributions from Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders), Julie Walters, Liz Berry and many of the regions best known writers.
Spake is a love letter to the West Midlands voice and
a challenge to the preconceptions and prejudices that abound about dialect and
non-standard English. Much maligned,
frequently overlooked or simply left out altogether: the English West Midlands
has for decades been diminished in the national conversation - and with it, the
rich dialects and voices of the region are often misunderstood, ignored or
worse ? ridiculed and mocked. But who?s to say that the way we ?spake? isn?t
every bit as vital and precious a part of the landscape as other accents and
dialects?
This anthology features
contemporary writing that draws upon dialect in ways that explore the potential
of the narrative and poetic voice, bringing to life the silent histories and
harsh realities of a vanishing working-class way of life in what was once
Britain?s industrial heartland. From contemporary re-imaginings of the
interwar decades in Steven Knight?s TV series Peaky Blinders to Liz
Berry?s prize-winning poetry and up and coming new talent, this book celebrates
and gives voice to experiences rooted in the region that have largely lain at
the margins.