BOWIELAND

‘A ripping read. What a ghost story! With life-affirming tread, Peter Carpenter tracks down fugitive selves, memory phantoms, through places lesser surveyors thought had vanished for ever, in quest of his bright trickster angel, the many named and multi-masked David Bowie. Here is a fugue of resistance and recovery, by way of gossip, anecdote, chance meeting. And a renewed sense of the undying mystery of things. Fabulous rewards for the blisters, dead ends and the enduring persistence in folly.’ * Iain Sinclair, author of London Orbital * ‘A sublime, time-travelling quest, a 21st century Baedeker of the edgelands. To save his life, Peter Carpenter must walk, so let him take you on a journey from Heddon Street to Berlin to Beckenham in search of our beloved Bowie, and ourselves.’ – Tiffany Murray * Author of My Family and Other Rock Stars * ‘Bowieland is living archaeology. By following the suburban songlines of Bowie’s life, and his own, Carpenter takes us on a joyful and fascinating journey which anchors Bowie’s genius in the pavements and lost monuments of our changing world. It’s a pilgrimage full of surprising connections, mesmerising detail, and a passionate desire to discover the unexpected in the midst of our collective memories.’ – Kevin Loader * producer of The Buddha of Suburbia * ‘Part fan pilgrimage, part psycho-geographical dérive, Bowieland vividly celebrates Bowie as not just a chameleonic visionary, but a nomadic one, a creature informed by place and circumstance’ – Stuart Maconie * Author of The Full English * ‘A heartfelt, entertaining and profound tale. Written with the enthusiasm of a true fan, and the voice of a poet, Bowieland merges travelogue, detective story and memoir into a highly original book that I’m pretty sure would win the approval of the man himself.’ – Lois Pryce * Author of Revolutionary Ride *

Peter Carpenter’s poetry has been widely anthologised and praised, and his chapter on creative writing appears in The OUP Handbook of British and Irish Poetry.

He has written essays and articles on a wide variety of subjects, from the photography of Boris Mikhailov to the poetry of T. S. Eliot, in journals such as London Magazine and PN Review. He contributed a chapter about rock star Gary Holton in London: City of Disappearances; and in Iain Sinclair’s circuit around the M25, London Orbital, Peter appears as a character and guide.

Born in Epsom, Peter now lives near Oxford with his wife, Amanda, a sustainability activist. They also co-direct cult independent micropress, Worple.

Peter walks for life and still supports his local team.