James Attlee's guest appearances

James Attlee

Blackwell's Presents...

WATER BOATWOMAN

The Author Archive Podcast

David Sedaris

Oliver Sacks

Johann Hari

William Davis

Simon Sebag Montefiore

Howard Jacobson

Pat Barker

Ian Rankin

Jon Ronson

Richard Dawkins

Nina Simone

Jilly Cooper

Sandi Toksvig

Simon Blackburn

Max Porter

OwlTail

In this inspiring book James Attlee tells what happened when he rang the doorbells of houses that had homemade pictures of rainbows in their windows. The simple idea blossomed and grew and James found himself talking about Extinction Rebellion and Black LIves Matter. This conversation took place on the day after the hottest ever day in the UK.

In this inspiring book James Attlee tells what happened when he rang the doorbells of houses that had homemade pictures of rainbows in their windows. The simple idea blossomed and grew and James found himself talking about Extinction Rebellion and Black LIves Matter. This conversation took place on the day after the hottest ever day in the UK.

James Attlee - Under the Rainbow : Voices from Lockdown

Trailer for Episode One of Water Boatwoman.- the pub at the Plain went back to the name 'The Cape of Good Hope' in 2009, when the first paperback edition of Isolarion came out.

Trailer for Episode One of Water Boatwoman. - the pub at the Plain went back to the name 'The Cape of Good Hope' in 2009, when the first paperback edition of Isolarion came out.

Episode One  - Isolarion by James Attlee (Trailer)

This is a book by James Attlee, called Isolarion. It follows Attlee’s journey down Cowley Road, a street that is well known to its locals, but to the outside is very often overshadowed by the sprawling campus of the university and the other tourist hotspots Oxford has to offer. James Attlee is a brilliant writer, I first picked up one of his books ‘Nocturne’ during a visit to the Turner Gallery in Margate. The exhibition was called ‘A Place That Only Exists In Moonlight’ by Katie Paterson, and featured work by JMW Turner himself. It was an exploration of space, and the night sky. It was wonderful. One of the installations featured a player piano performing a version of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, only this version was based on a recording that had been beamed up to the moon and back again, complete with radio interference patterns and gaps in the score.Nocturne was sitting on a shelf amongst other recommendations by Katie Paterson. I really enjoyed the book, and it left me wanting to read more. Enter Isolarion, the pilgrimage starts at the top of Cowley Road, at a place called ‘The Pub, Oxford’ (which was once more imaginatively called ‘The Cape Of Good Hope’) and ending at the MINI Cooper Plant. It’s a fascinating psycho geographical trip that takes the reader down the most culturally vibrant and buzzing street in Oxford. My family and I moved around the city a lot before we eventually settled in Rose Hill, which is an area just South of Cowley Road. Reading James’s descriptions of my favourite part of Oxford didn’t just transport me back to the place itself, but rekindled embers of distant memories made during my time working behind the bar at The Hi-Lo Jamaican Eating House. Memories at the Bullingdon watching bands with my friends, of buying alcohol at the ‘dodgy’ deli, and getting ingredients for my Dad’s famous Dal from Continental, the Indian supermarket. Through his writing, James hones in on the minutiae, finding inspiration in the intricate details and unique characters which collide together along Cowley Road and paints a vivid and exciting picture of an atmosphere that to those that know it well, feels like a place unlike anywhere in the world, yet as he states in the book ‘it is both unique and nothing special. It could be any number of streets in your town. For that reason alone, it seems as good a place as any from which to start a journey.’I want to take a moment to thank James Attlee and his publishers And Other Stories, for giving me permission to share this book with you.

This is a book by James Attlee, called Isolarion. It follows Attlee’s journey down Cowley Road, a street that is well known to its locals, but to the outside is very often overshadowed by the sprawling campus of the university and the other tourist hotspots Oxford has to offer. James Attlee is a brilliant writer, I first picked up one of his books ‘Nocturne’ during a visit to the Turner Gallery in Margate. The exhibition was called ‘A Place That Only Exists In Moonlight’ by Katie Paterson, and featured work by JMW Turner himself. It was an exploration of space, and the night sky. It was wonderful. One of the installations featured a player piano performing a version of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, only this version was based on a recording that had been beamed up to the moon and back again, complete with radio interference patterns and gaps in the score. Nocturne was sitting on a shelf amongst other recommendations by Katie Paterson. I really enjoyed the book, and it left me wanting to read more. Enter Isolarion, the pilgrimage starts at the top of Cowley Road, at a place called ‘The Pub, Oxford’ (which was once more imaginatively called ‘The Cape Of Good Hope’) and ending at the MINI Cooper Plant. It’s a fascinating psycho geographical trip that takes the reader down the most culturally vibrant and buzzing street in Oxford. My family and I moved around the city a lot before we eventually settled in Rose Hill, which is an area just South of Cowley Road. Reading James’s descriptions of my favourite part of Oxford didn’t just transport me back to the place itself, but rekindled embers of distant memories made during my time working behind the bar at The Hi-Lo Jamaican Eating House. Memories at the Bullingdon watching bands with my friends, of buying alcohol at the ‘dodgy’ deli, and getting ingredients for my Dad’s famous Dal from Continental, the Indian supermarket. Through his writing, James hones in on the minutiae, finding inspiration in the intricate details and unique characters which collide together along Cowley Road and paints a vivid and exciting picture of an atmosphere that to those that know it well, feels like a place unlike anywhere in the world, yet as he states in the book ‘it is both unique and nothing special. It could be any number of streets in your town. For that reason alone, it seems as good a place as any from which to start a journey.’ I want to take a moment to thank James Attlee and his publishers And Other Stories, for giving me permission to share this book with you.

Episode One - Isolarion by James Attlee

Blackwell's Fiction Bookseller Ray was delighted to sit down with James Attlee, author of Isolarion, to discuss the republishing of this classic book.A travel writing classic, with a new preface by the author and an afterword by Geoff Dyer.‘A time may come in your life’, Isolarion begins, ‘when you feel the need to make a pilgrimage.’ But when it does, how is a parent with a full-time job to respond to the call?Follow us:Twitter: @blackwelloxfordInstagram: @blackwelloxfordYouTube: Blackwell's OxfordWebsite: www.blackwells.co.uk

Blackwell's Fiction Bookseller Ray was delighted to sit down with James Attlee, author of Isolarion, to discuss the republishing of this classic book. A travel writing classic, with a new preface by the author and an afterword by Geoff Dyer. ‘A time may come in your life’, Isolarion begins, ‘when you feel the need to make a pilgrimage.’ But when it does, how is a parent with a full-time job to respond to the call? Follow us: Twitter: @blackwelloxford Instagram: @blackwelloxford YouTube: Blackwell's Oxford Website: <a href="http://www.blackwells.co.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.blackwells.co.uk</a>