artswith Book A call to take heed of the past Film


document want I had experienced. When I younger I knew I could never become a writer because my education was spotty as I’d been put to work as a child labourer at the age of seven and left school to work full time as a grocer’s assistant at 14. “I hope my books act as a political


reminder to people that the past is always going to repeat itself unless we correct its mistakes.” He’s working on a new project,


‘I never expected to be a writer’: Tim Lezard talks to nonagenarian publishing sensation Harry Leslie Smith


Harry Leslie Smith, 94-year-old author, Guardian contributor and Twitter troll-basher, has just published his fifth book. Don’t Let My Past Be Your Future


is a moving account of his life growing up in Yorkshire during the Great Depression. “Plunging into what was a deeply


unpleasant period of my life was painful for me because – as any writer will tell you – your mind, emotions, whole personality become enmeshed in what you write,” he tells Arts with Attitude. “It dogs you as you write it and then follows you afterwards, lingering in your imagination.” Smith was late to the writing


game, although he read a lot as a child in his local library and tried his hand at poetry during the Second World War. “I started writing as a means of


self preservation. I was in my 80s, knew my days were getting shorter and decided that I needed to


20 | theJournalist


travelling from Turkey into Greece, up through the Balkans and into Italy, Spain, Germany and France to document the refugee crisis which, he says, is more serious than the one at the end of the Second World War.


“That I’m willing to spend the last


years of my life breaking bread with refugees to help end this preventable suffering – this will be my greatest undertaking,” he says. “If we don’t tackle the refugee crisis and soon, war will soon follow that will be as catastrophic as the one I experienced against Hitler.” He finds it bewildering he’s


become a media celebrity – “I’m too old to let it get to my head” – but enjoys sparring on Twitter, saying: “It’s me, and only me, who tweets from my account, and I can only assume some trolls try to claim it’s not because they don’t like my message of socialism and a fair deal for all.”


Smith tweets at @Harryslaststand. You can donate to his new book at www.gofundme.com/harrys- last-stand-tour


Manchester Keeps On Dancing The Doom Doc A couple of musical films for you this month: both based in northern cities, but featuring very different genres. Manchester Keeps On Dancing looks at how house music arrived in Manchester from Chicago in the 1980s, through to the Acid House explosion of 1988. Doom Doc, created on a shoestring budget of £2,500, focuses on Sheffield’s links to heavy metal, exploring drug use, mental health and gentrification with the help of former Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward and members of Conan, Crowbar and Primitive Man. www.mcrkeepson.com http://thedoomdoc.com


Happy End And a treat from Michael Haneke. The award-winning director of Amour, The White Ribbon and Hidden returns with a drama about a well-off French family living in a bourgeois bubble in northern France, oblivious to the human misery unfolding in migrant camps around Calais, a few miles from their home. Perhaps I should send Harry Leslie Smith round to have a word. @HappyEndFilm


Music


The Selecter and The Beat Touring UK in December A Christmas present from the past as two 2-tone legends tour together at the end of the month, with a bonus Belfast gig in March. The Beat,


Jonathan Pie: Back to the Studio Touring the UK from February Political satirist and frustrated news reporter Jonathan Pie’s unguarded off-camera rants were one of the internet sensations of


attitude


by Tim Lezard


probably best known for Mirror In the Bathroom, are touring with Pauline Black’s The Selecter, of On My Radio fame. Mixing punk, ska and reggae, their music addressed the social and political issues in the early Thatcher years, giving a voice to disaffected youth across the racial divide. Pauline is as political as ever, as her band’s new album, Daylight, testifies. http://theselecter.net


Wolf Alice Touring Europe in January If you like combining overseas city breaks


with gigs, why not pop across the Channel to see Jeremy Corbyn’s new favourite band, Wolf Alice? Not “favourite” in a “Gordon Brown/Arctic Monkeys” way, but in a “You backed me in the general election/I’ll back you in the charts” way. Who mentioned anything about Brexit? http://wolfalice.co.uk


Comedy Sophie Hagen Touring the UK in January The London-based Dane has appeared on BBC television, Channel 4 and Comedy Central. Now she embarks on a UK tour to talk about her psychopathic grandfather’s


funeral, even though he’s not dead yet. I wonder if he’ll turn up at any of the shows? www.sofiehagen.com


Some of the best things to


see and do with a bit of political bite


For listings email: arts@NUJ.org.uk


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