A community based writing group from Scotland Road is planning to launch the first book to come out of the area for approximately 40 years.
Known as the Scottie Road Writers’ Workshop – or Scottie Writers – it has run since 1973 after being formed by the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Extension Studies (now the Continuing Education Department).
The book will be an anthology of members’ stories from over the years and will be titled ‘Scottie Road Writers in Black and White’.
Without the group, the celebrated name of Jimmy McGovern would perhaps only be known by his family and friends.
Another former member that went on to roaring success includes veteran Liverpool actor Chris Darwin, 58, who starred in Brookside, Coronation Street and Boys From The Blackstuff.
Charles Rogan, who has chaired the group since it returned eight years ago after a short closure, stressed about the importance of the book in a time when North Liverpool has become a “cultural desert”.
He said: “I feel that the North of Liverpool is looked upon as something of a cultural desert within the city as a whole, indeed I have heard it called that while I was introduced during a poetry reading at The Bluecoat.
“We are basically the last bastion of cultural activity in the North of Liverpool and it’s very sad.”
The group was the first of its kind in the country, helping scores of working class residents develop their creative capacities.
Not only do the weekly meetings at Vauxhall’s Neighbourhood Centre (VNC) cultivate people’s raw talent, but they produce publications as well as staging plays and public readings.
Charles, who praised Chief Executive of the VNC Pauline Connolly for helping out with the workshop, was adamant that the book is not just about Scotland Road.
“It’s an anthology of our work over the last three or four years, so there’s sci-fi, horror, stories on the Vietnam War, Victorian era Liverpool and sea captains,” he added.
“But there are stories and poems about the old Scotland Road too.”
Original group convener David Evans, who was jailed for five years for ‘conspiracy to sabotage the state’ in his homeland of South Africa, was a lecturer at University of Liverpool when he formed the life-changing workshop.
The 68-year-old and former journalist says the group was “the best thing” he was involved in.
The book is expected for a summer release and anyone wanting to reserve a copy should contact charlesrogan18@yahoo.co.uk
