Stephen Watts
I could listen to Stephen Watts reading his poetry for hours. When he writes about the East End I feel he has somehow unlocked my brain, spilled the contents out on the floor and rearranged the memories into a mosaic of urban elegance. I always think of him as ‘the East End poet’. This is simply one aspect of his work as he has supported many poets from outside Europe and endevoured to get their work translated and read by a wider public. His own work has also been translated into other languages.
Stephen Watts reading his poems at the Tate Britain, 2010
Stephen has worked in many schools to introduce children to poetry. For decades he has encouraged other poets and taken his own work to many community events.
Stephen Watts, Whitechapel 2011
He is equally at home reading to an audience of hundreds at the Tate Britain as he is in a field reading his work to visitors to an urban farm.
Stephen Watts, Whitechapel 2011
When I first heard him reading his poetry at a community event many years ago I was intrigued by his appearance and put him on my list of people to photograph!
Stephen Watts, Whitechapel 2011
Stars, Sylhet and Centre Point
I photographed this man (below) staring upwards, from a Rickshaw in Sylhet. I have no idea what he was looking at but I do know he can see the Milky Way at night time which is an altogether more inspiring sight than anything I could look up at in London.
Man in Sylhet Town, Bangladesh 1991
Somehow the gaze of this man reminded me of a time I emerged from the underground at Tottenham Court Road when I was struck by the building Centre Point. A poor substitute to seeing a canopy of stars I still remember light vibrating from the building as I emerged from the artificial light of the underground. In an instant I knew I had to photograph the building just as I knew I had to photograph the man staring upwards in Sylhet Town.
Centre Point, Oxford Street London 1986
Crowds
Crowd at bus stop in Dhaka, 1991
Crowd in Brick Lane, 1999
Dhaka Noise
I recall taking the photograph below near a bus stop and remember the noise of the traffic on the road.
A passenger leans out of the window of a bus before it stops at a bus stop. Dhaka Bangladesh 1991
Drivers in Dhaka are fond of using vehicle horns to signal their presence on the road. This results in a chorus of noise which is joined by the gentler call of the bells of rickshaw drivers. This ensemble of traffic instruments has a stange predictability to it but the only thing that is absolutely certain is that it will sing without a break until late evening.
Rickshaw driver with passenger using a mobile phone, Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
Brick Lane Doorways
Before Brick Lane was colonised by a tidal wave of trendiness from planet Shoreditch there were numerous doorways leading to places that have now disappeared. Small independent businesses found it difficult to survive because of rising rents and regeneration plans. I was an admirer of ‘United Autos’ who operated from under the bridge on Brick Lane. This car repair workshop (below) prospered for many years but eventually closed following the Crossrail development.
The entrance to 'United Autos', Brick Lane 2003
Entrance to flat on Brick Lane, 1984
The flat above has since been improved as part of a social housing scheme.
Doorway to 'Harry's' newsagents, Brick Lane 1984
All of these buildings (above) have been demolished and replaced by shops and flats.
