The aim of Soul City Wandering is to guide individuals towards embracing
their urban environment by encouraging interaction between time, place
and emotion, or engagement with a journey.
As such, Soul City Wandering is a gateway into the world of
psychogeography, a comparatively modern label for the act of
experiencing your surroundings on a sensory level.
The model is London. A city so complex, crowded and consuming, that it's
easy to feel disoriented, disenchanted and disconnected.
Fusing history, music and poetry, the author invites readers to
rediscover the capital, its streets, its structures, and its soul.
The main 'pilgrimage' is an easily navigable route combining walking and
public transport. It links twelve highly evocative places and uses
lyrical expression to amplify a sensory perception of the city.
This book is not about 'hidden London'. Most of the locations are
well-known. They have been selected because they have a strong
'synergy'. That is, spaces where the interaction of multiple agents or
events produces an effect greater than the sum of their individual
significance.
Two further models of this concept are included. Both are London-themed
but a little more compact: 'Romancing the British Museum' is an
exploration of that institution's influence on poetry, while 'Ghosts of
Swinging London' is a jaunt around Soho, focusing on its impact on rock
'n' roll.
In addition, hints and tips have been added to help readers create their
own experiences.
