Ode to the City – An Ethnographic Drama

If Brecht had done ethnography, it might well have turned out like this. Blackledge and Creese have always put the human centre-stage, here literally so: fieldwork becomes playscript to explore contexts personal and political in ways both inspired and inspirational for anyone seeking new ways to do research. I can’t wait for their next production! * Frank Monaghan, The Open University, UK *
Carefully distilled from ethnographic data, a multivoiced scenario unfolds that vividly captures the liminal moment of the dismantling of a public sociocultural institution under the conditions of neoliberal policies. A riveting reading experience and a milestone in the quest for new ways of presenting research findings. * Brigitta Busch, University of Vienna, Austria *
Blurring the personal and the political on the page as in life, this creative curation of ethnographic data captures people in the middle of life-changing events. From debating stroganoff recipes to political party leadership candidates, this drama of the everyday traces the human cost of the largest award-winning library in Europe disintegrating into “a body without a soul.” It’s impossible not to be moved. * Maggie Kubanyiova, University of Leeds, UK *
A familiar scene. A weary academic enters, stage left. Walks to table in centre stage, picks up book and begins to read. WEARY ACADEMIC: [engrossed] I’ve never read an ethnographic research output like this...one that immerses the reader in everyday conversations through which we come to know both the characters and their understanding of the social and political changes around them...Exit right still reading book, pursued by a renewed sense of excitement. * Caroline Tagg, The Open University, UK *

The dialogues in this book are...simple, easy and fun to read. We can understand the characters through their conversations, from the frustration of having to leave their jobs at the library to the uncertainty of the future and how these reflections get intertwined with conversations about food or TV shows.

-- Rommy Anabalon Schaaf, IOE, UCL, UK * Journal of Sociolinguistics, 2022 *