Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea, on England's east coast, on the north bank of the Thames Estuary, is the hometown of the founders of Monomyth — DJ Tyrer, Richard Burman, Ian O'Reilly and Simon Birch (alright, he's from Hadleigh, down the road) — and remains the home of Atlantean Publishing at Pierrot Steps. Except for early issues of Awen and Garbaj, which were produced at Aberystwyth University, all the Atlantean Publishing publications have come from here. As of 2022, it is now officially a city.
DJ Tyrer taught a course in creative writing at Southend Community College during the 2002/03 and 2003/04 academic years, as well as a course on Mythology in 2002/03 and some 'bitesize' courses during Summer 2003. He edited The Prospectus for his students.
The history of the area is the subject of the article Secret Southend.
==Southchurch and Milton==
Pierrot Steps lies in a historically significant area of Southend-on-Sea. In terms of proximity, it is more part of Southchurch, a village going back to medieval times. It officially lies within, and just on the edge of, Milton, the ward named for the original medieval port in the area. In addition, it is a short walk away from Outing Close, the nucleus of the fishing community that later became Southend-on-Sea.
==Claims To Fame==
Most famous for possessing the world's longest — and most-frequently damaged — pier (which received a brief mentioned in Three Men in a Boat), Southend-on-Sea has several other claims to fame, including the Kursaal (recently featured on a stamp), a surprisingly literary graveyard not far from Pierrot Steps, and several famous inhabitants since royalty and Lady Hamilton patronised. Famous figures connected with Southend include:
*Vivian Stanshall of The Bonzo Dog Band
*Gary Brooker of Procol Harum
*Author Warwick Deeping
*Comic writer Warren Ellis
*Actress Nathalie Emmanuel
*Actress Lara Pulver
*Author John Fowles (from Leigh-on-Sea)
*Actress Dame Helen Mirren (also from Leigh-on-Sea)
Local bands, such as Procul Harum and The Kursaal Flyers, have been successful, most recently Busted. In addition, Cliffs Pavilion attracts some major acts and was the location of the Live by the Sea video by Oasis.
Dee Gordon has catalogued a variety of famous and notorious people connected with Southend-on-Sea, past and present, in several books, including Southend Living Legends.
Southend seafront is also briefly seen in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, a friend of Gary Brooker (who provides another link between Southend and Aberystwyth).
A fictional "infamous 'Toe-Cutter of Southend'" is mentioned amongst a job lot of psychopathic killers in the novel, The Woman Who Died A Lot and another psychopath from Southend is mentioned in an episode of Doc Martin.
==Contributors From Southend-on-Sea==
In addition to the editorial team, some of the contributors to Atlantean publications come from the Southend area:
*Dee Gordon
*Harriet Pattison
*C. Anne
Whilst not a local, John O'Malley has a family connection with the town and often visited, inspiring him to write poetry with a Southend theme.
==Poetry Inspired By Southend-On-Sea==
The town itself is the inspiration behind and focus of two multi-author poetry booklets published by Atlantean, Poetic Southend: A Last Resort and its sequel Going Back Again.
For a list of all Southend-inspired poetry click here.
==Stories Set In Southend-On-Sea==
*The Day of the Davidians
*The Book Of The Secrets of Bob (also partly set in Aberystwyth)
===Inspired by Southend-on-Sea===
*Although not explicitly set in Southend, the Hall in Pentacle was based upon Southchurch Hall and the story was accompanied by photographs of Southchurch Hall.
*Endway takes its name from The End Way.
Category:Locations