Shaped by a prosperous and imperial past and increasingly by the contemporary forces of austerity, Brexit and climate change, seaside towns occupy marginal, liminal and contradictory spaces in England’s literal and imaginative geography. Journalist Dr Tom Sykes and Illustrator Dr Louis Netter of Portsmouth University share their experiences of travelling to 21 such communities over the last two years.
Their upcoming book Coast of Teeth covers Torquay, Blackpool, Scarborough, Bournemouth, Southsea, Jaywick, Clacton-on-Sea and other towns. By using such ethnographic techniques and psychogeographical methodologies as the dérive, Tom and Louise gained direct, lived experience of these communities, how they self-identify and how they are identified and perceived by the broader culture.