Laura Barton
Laura Barton | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1977 (age 47–48) Newburgh, Lancashire |
| Occupation | Journalist, writer |
| Education | Worcester College, Oxford |
| Subjects | Rock, pop music, women's issues |
Laura Barton (born 1977) is an English journalist and writer. She writes mainly for The Guardian, and wrote a novel, Twenty-One Locks, published in 2010.
Biography
Barton was born in and grew up in the village of Newburgh in Lancashire, and was educated at Winstanley College[1] and read for an English degree at Worcester College, Oxford. Following graduation, she began writing for The Guardian from 2000 specialising in writing features. She has also written for Q magazine, The Word, and Intelligent Life, and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Much of her writing relates to rock and pop music, and until late 2011 she wrote a fortnightly column about music for The Guardian's Film and Music supplement, called "Hail, Hail, Rock and Roll", as well as a weekly column on women's issues for the newspaper's G2 supplement, called "The View from a Broad".[2]
Her novel, Twenty-One Locks (2010), recounts the story of "a young small-town girl facing the biggest decision of her life." Carol Birch, reviewing it in The Independent, said "Too much grim-up-north trowel-laying mars Laura Barton's otherwise promising first novel. ... Wonderful writing - but it's hard to engage with such a passively selfish central character."[3] Also in the Independent Rob Sharp wrote "When she lets her words flow they become rhythmic; most of them, however, are painstakingly chiselled." and finishes "I look forward to Barton's second [book]."[4] Rosamund Urwin of Evening Standard says "But while well-rendered, the book feels light on ideas. Twenty-One Locks could have been a short story rather than a novel."[5]
Barton worked with photographer Sarah Lee on a photo-essay West of West: Travels along the edge of America, which was published by Unbound (2020, ISBN 978-1783527694) and featured in The Guardian[6] and The New York Review of Books.[7] Her memoir Sad Songs is to be published by Quercus books under its riverrun imprint on 1 May 2025 (ISBN 978-1529406948).
She made a three-part series Notes on Music for BBC Radio 4 in 2021, discussing the ages of seventeen in music, "happy sad songs", and Bruce Springsteen.[8]
Barton has said she is working on a second novel and a non-fiction book about music.[2] A series of short stories about Northern soul was broadcast on Radio 4 in 2011.
Barton married in 2004.[9] She subsequently divorced.[10]
References
- ^ Barton, Laura (23 November 2009). "Lady Ashton went to my school". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
- ^ a b Thwaite, Mark (5 August 2010). "Interview: Laura Barton". Quercus Books. Archived from the original on 7 December 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
- ^ Birch, Carol (13 October 2011). "Twenty-One Locks, By Laura Barton". The Independent. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
- ^ Sharp, Rob (25 July 2010). "Rimbaud: first blood". The Independent.
- ^ Urwin, Rosamund (8 July 2010). "Jeannie's dream of escape". Evening Standard.
- ^ Lee, Sarah; Barton, Laura (4 April 2018). "West of West: Santa Monica pier and 'the end of America' - a photo essay". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
- ^ Barton, Laura; Lee, Sarah M. (22 February 2020). "Way Out West". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
- ^ Sawyer, Miranda (3 April 2021). "The week in audio: Laura Barton's Notes on Music; The Crisis – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
- ^ "TFT Meets... Laura Barton". The Friday Thing. 27 August 2004. Archived from the original on 26 August 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
- ^ Barton, Laura (24 December 2017). "'The last time I went home for Christmas was five years ago. I was a terrible guest'". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2021.