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Speakers' Corner: Debate, Democracy and Disturbing the Peace at London's Speakers' Corner
A unique photographic record of 35 years at Speakers' Corner—an extraordinary place of great symbolic and historic significance and regarded as the home of free speech
Speakers' Corner, the product of a 35-year-long photo-documentary project, is a unique look at the people who come to argue, discuss, and preach at Speakers’ Corner in London's Hyde Park, regarded worldwide as the home of free speech. Many of the photographs, taken between 1977 and 2012 and published here for the first time, are accompanied by excerpts of speeches, heckles, arguments, and debates which are, by turns, intriguing, shocking, politically incorrect—and often very funny. In an age in which the mass media largely set the parameters of public discussion, such unmediated, face-to-face public debate is rare, and offers a very different perspective on "public opinion". The speakers and hecklers recorded here represent a vital element of our democratic tradition, a vibrant legacy of the 19th century campaigners who fought for, and won, the rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
Speakers' Corner, the product of a 35-year-long photo-documentary project, is a unique look at the people who come to argue, discuss, and preach at Speakers’ Corner in London's Hyde Park, regarded worldwide as the home of free speech. Many of the photographs, taken between 1977 and 2012 and published here for the first time, are accompanied by excerpts of speeches, heckles, arguments, and debates which are, by turns, intriguing, shocking, politically incorrect—and often very funny. In an age in which the mass media largely set the parameters of public discussion, such unmediated, face-to-face public debate is rare, and offers a very different perspective on "public opinion". The speakers and hecklers recorded here represent a vital element of our democratic tradition, a vibrant legacy of the 19th century campaigners who fought for, and won, the rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
120 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2015
4 people want to read
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September 18, 2020
There is not much text here to read; it is mostly photographs of speakers and their hecklers, accompanied by their opinions. And what a gamut of opinions! The good, the bad, and the ugly. This book is a celebration of free speech. Of uncensored ideas. Of face-to-face discussion and argument. It is entirely nonjudgmental. Some of these speakers come across as crackpots. Others make more sense than the so-called experts on TV. I went to Speakers’ Corner years ago and got some ideas that made their ways into a book I wrote.
Speakers’ Corner is “a sort of outdoor television,” says one speaker. You change channels by wandering away. Another speaker insists that Jesus must have been black because despite his many talents, “he still couldn’t get a proper job.” Another speaker quotes Karl Marx, who was a speaker at Speakers’ Corner in the 19th century.
Some of these speakers represent political parties, churches, or other organizations. Others represent only themselves.
One of the speakers featured in this book was a dear friend of mine, now deceased. He was a Christian who never went to church on Sundays. Instead he went to Speakers’ Corner—that was his church. He went there not to preach, but to exchange ideas and clarify thought. He went to a real church during the week, to help at a dining room that fed the poor and the homeless.
The photos are black-and-white on glossy paper. Many are full-page in size. They capture the spirit and intensity of the place.
Speakers’ Corner is “a sort of outdoor television,” says one speaker. You change channels by wandering away. Another speaker insists that Jesus must have been black because despite his many talents, “he still couldn’t get a proper job.” Another speaker quotes Karl Marx, who was a speaker at Speakers’ Corner in the 19th century.
Some of these speakers represent political parties, churches, or other organizations. Others represent only themselves.
One of the speakers featured in this book was a dear friend of mine, now deceased. He was a Christian who never went to church on Sundays. Instead he went to Speakers’ Corner—that was his church. He went there not to preach, but to exchange ideas and clarify thought. He went to a real church during the week, to help at a dining room that fed the poor and the homeless.
The photos are black-and-white on glossy paper. Many are full-page in size. They capture the spirit and intensity of the place.
Displaying 1 of 1 review