Trying to Fit a Number to a Name: The Essex Estuary

by Lee Rourke

Novelist Lee Rourke and journalist Tim Burrows explore the myths and identity of modern Essex in two complementary essays about estuary Essex – think, Southend-on-Sea, Canvey Island, the Dengie Peninsula. Both Tim and Lee explore themes through Dr Feelgood, TOWIE, Conrad, Heidegger, the mud and flatness of the estuary and much more... Drawing on their respective lived experiences; Rourke currently lives in Southend, Burrows grew up there they tackle the stereotypes and hidden histories of one of the UK’s most misrepresented counties. This book is a must for anyone who is a fan of place writing, music and the influence of geography on the lived experience.

67 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 27, 2014

About the author

Lee Rourke is the author of the short-story collection Everyday, the novels The Canal (winner of the Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize 2010), Vulgar Things, and the poetry collections Varroa Destructor and Vantablack. His latest novel Glitch is published by Dead Ink Books. His debut novel The Canal is being adapted to film by Storyhouse Productions, summer 2020. He is Contributing Editor for 3:AM Magazine [www.3ammagazine.com]. He lives by the sea.