Writing Brighton: Fiction, Film and Poetry
Writing Brighton
1. Reading Fiction: Brighton Rock
In this session, you will encounter a range of
important ideas about how to read fiction, focusing
on the Graham Greene’s 1938 novel Brighton Rock.
2. Reading Film: Quadrophenia
This session will introduce you to a range of
approaches to analysing cinema, focusing on the
1979 film Quadrophenia. We will particularly
consider the ways the film portrays ‘subcultures’,
and the place of Brighton in the imagination of the
1960s.
3. Reading Poetry: Brighton Poets
In this session you will encounter new writing by
poets based in Brighton. We will explore a range of
techniques for analysing poetry, and you will get
the chance to develop your own creative work.
4. Reading Non-Fiction: Brighton Pavilion
In the final session you will visit The Brighton
Pavilion, perhaps Britain’s most eccentric building.
We will explore pieces of writing inspired by it, and
think about what ideas might help us understand
the meanings of its bizarre mix of cultural styles.
This course uses the city of Brighton and
its depiction in modern literature and
cinema as a basis for an introduction to
the diverse forms of literary study we
offer at Sussex.
From its notoriety in the 1800s as home
to the flamboyant Prince Regent,
through the famous ‘Mods and Rockers’
riots of the 1960s, to its present role as
a vibrantly cosmopolitan modern city,
the outrageousness of Brighton has
always inspired writers and filmmakers.
In each session, you will look at different
genres of writing about Brighton. By
exploring these various texts you will
learn about how to appreciate and
critique various literary forms, and
acquire helpful vocabulary for analysis.
You will also become familiar with
important concepts that can be used to
explore literature and culture, including
ideas about deviance, sexuality, and the
‘Orientalist’ aesthetic of the city’s most
famous building, the Brighton Pavilion,
which we will visit in our final week.
From week one you will work
collaboratively in small groups to
produce and present an online video
essay, in which you explore your own
response to the depictions of Brighton
we will have looked at.