Uses of Literacy Now

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Writer and critic DJ Taylor assesses Richard Hoggart's masterpiece The Uses of Literacy. This colossal book inspired a slew of post-war histories, as well as Coronation Street and the poet Tony Harrison's 'Them and Uz'. It was the book that inspired Alan Bennett to write. Hoggart was born into great poverty in Leeds and wrote movingly about this early life and the people - mainly women - who inspired him. A scholarship boy, he revealed the emotional consequences of moving from one class to another. He also offered a searing critique of the burgeoning mass media, expressing his concerns that the new literacy was in danger of being swamped by a popular press that carefully suppressed anything liable to encourage readers to think about the environment they inhabit, rather than simply wallow in its material comforts. Contributors include: * Author of Estates and Respectable, Lynsey Hanley * Historian, David Kynaston * Novelist, David Lodge * Playwright, Alan Bennett Producer: Nicola Swords. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2017.