Iain Aitch was born in Margate and discovered his love of books in the local library, where his mum was the cleaner. He has long been the go-to chronicler and natural biographer of Margate and its people, working with mods, rockers, beauty queens, fairground workers and refugees to create a body of work on the town that has graced the best of the UK press, books and the walls of the Turner.
He was Turner’s artist-in-residence as it opened, with his exhibition on working class creativity and subcultures showing alongside Warhol, Banksy, Emin and Turner himself. He also recreated the demolished Ship Inn inside Turner, resulting in the first and last time the gallery was drunk dry, as middle-aged skinheads cavorted with Rodin’s The Kiss.
His Writing Margate session will draw from his work on Margate’s cultural history and ever-changing face, giving experienced and beginner writers alike the impetus and inspiration to interpret the town in new ways. His work is inspired by the backstreets, dark tales and characters that make up the town as much as it is by the neon, sand and sunsets.
Iain’s written work on Margate has been cited in academic studies, become a staple on the Open University’s syllabus and inspired several studies and projects. He has been published by the Guardian, Observer, Times, Financial Times and Daily Telegraph, with two books on UK culture and language (A Fête Worse Than Death and We’re British, innit) published by Hodder Headline and Harper Collins.