In the early twenty-first century, 'Englishness' suddenly became a hot topic. A rash of art exhibitions, pop albums and coffee table books arrived on the scene, all desperate to recover England's lost national soul. But when we clear away the patriotic stereotypes, we begin to see the fundamental ways in which England does not -- and perhaps should not -- exist at all. In this provocative text combining polemic and memoir, Alex Niven argues that the map of the so-call British Isles should be torn apart completely as we look forward to a time of radical political reform. Ranging over poetry, pop music, civic history and utopian conjecture, Niven argues for a fully renovated design for the islands -- a fluid, dynamic version of regionalism preparing the way for a new 'dream archipelago'. -- Back cover.
A study of place, identity, music, politics and regionalism which calls for a radical restructuring of the British Isles.In the early twenty-first century, "Englishness" suddenly became a hot topic. A rash of art exhibitions, pop albums and coffee table books arrived on the scene, all desperate to recover England&;s lost national soul. But when we sweep away the patriotic stereotypes, we begin to see that England is a country that does not &; and perhaps should not &; exist in any essential sense.In this provocative text combining polemic and memoir, Alex Niven argues that the map of the British Isles should be torn apart completely as we look towards a time of radical political reform. Rejecting outdated nationalisms, Niven argues for a renovated model of culture and governance for the islands &; a fluid, dynamic version of regionalism preparing the way for a new "dream archipelago".