Jeanette Winterston - famous novelist

[Wynonie Harris]

Originally Posted by Tealeaf

Best known work is "Sh*t in a Can"

Thanks for enlightening me. What have I been missing all these years?

[Tealeaf]

Anyway, back to Jeanette.....this is her shop, taken from her website:

http://www.jeanettewinterson.com/verdes.asp

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

Who are Gilbert & George?...they sound like some end-of-the-pier variety act!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_and_George

[Wynonie Harris]

Thanks for that, Gary. I was particularly interested in this quote "A number of works from the early 1970's consisted of the two of them getting drunk..."

I'm a performance artist and I never knew it!

[Tealeaf]

I wonder if the Accy Observer will pick up on this little tale...what would the story be.....

Uproar as Lesbo
author slags off
Accrington

The whole of Accrington was up in arms
last night after reading thats it's most
famoous literary daughter had described
the town as "Awful" in an article in last
saturday's Times.
Jeanette Winterson won the 1985 Whitbread
prize for her novel "Oranges are not the
Only Fruit".
The book has graphic desciptions of
seedy lesbian romps taking place
everywhere in Accy in the 1960's.
Yet Winterson claimed on saturday that
nowt really happened other than a daily
dose of bible bashing.

"She can't have it both ways" stated
Councillor Graham britcliffe "it was either a
hotbed of exotic sex or a puitans delight.
And she can't make the money from the town
and then rubbish us"

Ms Winterson was unavailable for
comment last night.

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Tealeaf

I wonder if the Accy Observer will pick up on this little tale...what would the story be.....

Uproar as Lesbo
author slags off
Accrington

The whole of Accrington was up in arms
last night after reading thats it's most
famoous literary daughter had described
the town as "Awful" in an article in last
saturday's Times.
Jeanette Winterson won the 1985 Whitbread
prize for her novel "Oranges are not the
Only Fruit".
The book has graphic desciptions of
seedy lesbian romps taking place
everywhere in Accy in the 1960's.
Yet Winterson claimed on saturday that
nowt really happened other than a daily
dose of bible bashing.

"She can't have it both ways" stated
Councillor Graham britcliffe "it was either a
hotbed of exotic sex or a puitans delight.
And she can't make the money from the town
and then rubbish us"

Ms Winterson was unavailable for
comment last night.

For God's sake calm down, you'll be having a stroke next!

Stop pondering on any Sapphic couplings that may or may not have happened on top of the Coppice or in the bus shelters, or indeed on the Town Hall Steps.

[accymel]

Lmfao!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well if i see that in the Observer i will chuckle loudly for Accyweb LOL blimey then we'd know they are getting desperate for news or hoping for a purvy response for Mr PB pmsl!!!

[katex]

Originally Posted by garinda

For God's sake calm down, you'll be having a stroke next!

Oh please Garinda, don't tempt me to remark on this statement

I think fair comment by Tealeaf, I still feel very hurt by her comments and, as he said, her memories of Accrington has afforded her the benefit of a good deal of wealth.

Lots of things don't ring true to me though, and I would like to know more.
i.e. Garinda, you talk about an exorcism .. don't know much about the Pentecostal Church, but could this not be just some sort of ceremony that is adopted by this religion ? Like Christenings and Confirmations, which always seem a little extreme to me. Not saying for sure, you understand, just asking.

Also, she talks about only a handful of books in the house .. well, we couldn't afford many in my house when I was little and read the ones that were there over and over again.

Also, she talks about having to go and sit in her outside loo to read same and yet her article is about snuggling under the bed sheets to read them.

She attended Accy High .. so did I .. lot earlier than Jeanette did of course, they had an excellent library and could take them out to read at home.

Dunno ? some anomalies here which have grabbed my attention and that's not bad, as all very interesting at the end of the day.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by garinda

For God's sake calm down, you'll be having a stroke next!

Stop pondering on any Sapphic couplings that may or may not have happened on top of the Coppice or in the bus shelters, or indeed on the Town Hall Steps.

Are these your old haunts? Did you she her up there or around town with her basket of fruit or was you the only Orange in Town?

[garinda]

Originally Posted by katex

Oh please Garinda, don't tempt me to remark on this statement

I think fair comment by Tealeaf, I still feel very hurt by her comments and, as he said, her memories of Accrington has afforded her the benefit of a good deal of wealth.

Lots of things don't ring true to me though, and I would like to know more.
i.e. Garinda, you talk about an exorcism .. don't know much about the Pentecostal Church, but could this not be just some sort of ceremony that is adopted by this religion ? Like Christenings and Confirmations, which always seem a little extreme to me. Not saying for sure, you understand, just asking.

Also, she talks about only a handful of books in the house .. well, we couldn't afford many in my house when I was little and read the ones that were there over and over again.

Also, she talks about having to go and sit in her outside loo to read same and yet her article is about snuggling under the bed sheets to read them.

She attended Accy High .. so did I .. lot earlier than Jeanette did of course, they had an excellent library and could take them out to read at home.

Dunno ? some anomalies here which have grabbed my attention and that's not bad, as all very interesting at the end of the day.

When the book was dramatised and afforded Accy and herself a lot of publicity, her mother denied what had been seen by many as an auto-biography by her daughter and said a lot of the things she wrote never happened. I know who I am more tempted to believe. I remember there was an interview with her mother in the Observer in the late '80's, if anyone has the patience to try and find it in the archives.

I think she has every right to describe Accrington anyway she likes. It's her memories of the place not ours.

Like I said earlier lesbianism wasn't very visible in the 70's to a young girl growing up in Accy then. The early 70's were pretty grim throughout Britain with strikes, power cuts and Morecambe and Wise considered the height of as entertainment on the box.

I found it grim here and from the age of seven knew I would have to move away if I wasn't going to be considered a freak.

Thity years later this freak doesn't give a f**k and happily moved back home.

[yone]

Although I am not that religious … I remember Ms Winterson from Sunday School… she always seemed rather creepy to me so I did not really bother with her… I remember she was always first in any of the quizzes we had, and her Bible was like full of bits of paper scriptures and so on… In her book her writings about the Elm Church are basically a load of old Tripe and Blackpuddings…
She makes it sound like the entire congregation were a bunch of perverts…. Not the case: but it takes one to know one springs to mind:
She was just a plain Jane ( Jeanette) who did not appear to join in with the other kids…. I also remember her selling ice-creams…. Instead of slagging off her home town and parents…. She should bloody well do something ( PUBLICLY) for it:
My opinion on her book Oranges are not the only fruit is …. That the book is pure fantasy and crap:

[LJFD]

I think those that are critising J Winterstone's opening remarks in her Times newspaper article should perhaps appreciate her 'aweful' childhood (read "Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit') - then you would understand why she escaped (from her mother more than anything). It's not easy being gay in Accrington (I can vouch for that); isn't she right not want to tolerate bigots and prejudice when it presents itself? It seems things didn't really change much - if you saw the South Bank Show with J Winterstone and Melvyn Bragg coming out of Accrington Library and STILL having abuse yelled in her direction from a van driver, it was all rather embarassing! Interesingly she lives around the corner from me now in Spitalfields (London) (I believe she has a house in the country too). We should be proud of an Accrington lady who has done really well for herself AND has probably produced one of the finest written and funniest books on the town (WELL worth a read).

[mikebuk]

I live in Accrington for the first 21 years of my life. I guess JW is simply comparing her life there to Oxford or wherever else she has lived.

I can't say I know how 60s Accrington was, but if you compare the sights of a small former mill town to the bright lights of the Metropolis, many may agree with her.

[Aromaanne]

I remember Jeanette as I taught her at Peel Park junior school---- she was a strange child but memorable in many ways--- she always wore a yellow ribbon in her hair---- I have found in my many years of teaching that exceptionally gifted children always stick in my memory--- like Julie Hesmondhalgh., Mina Anwar, and others.Vickie Entwistle although I think she can do more than Coronation Street!!!

[Atarah]

Yesterdays Sunday Mail had a report on Christmas childrens books -they rated this one the best out of the four they had picked to review:
The Lion, Unicorn and Me by Jeanette Winterston

In this beautifully evocative retelling of the story of the very first Christmas, the humble donkey is chosen out of all the other animals, including the kingly lion and the proud unicorn. As his journey unfolds, he is touched by the magic and mystery of the Nativity…

The award-winning, world-renowned novelist Jeanette Winterson has created a masterful and deftly crafted story that sparkles with originality, humour and warmth. Perfectly completed by Rosalind MacCurrach’s stunning illustrations with twinkling gold detail, this gorgeous Christmas book will be cherished by families for years to com