'Big Issue' interview
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Got a great idea for a book that everyone should know about? Think you have something revolutionary that you just have to get out to the public? Well get it down on paper and get it off to a few well respected publishing houses in Wales, then the rest of the world will be your oyster.
That’s how the dream runs, anyway. John Evans will tell you that in reality things are very different. A couple of weeks ago John launched his fifth book Giants – a Kafkaesque nightmare set in the South Wales Valleys – on the internet. The site received over 3,000 hits on the launch night alone, testament to his dedicated following.
John first came to public attention when his punk band Tax Exiles signed to Beggars Banquet. However it seems the establishment in Wales doesn’t agree with his way of thinking. “I think in Britain we have a tradition of Shakespeare and things like that, which make literature a bit sort of archaic, and of very little relevance to people’s lives. It’s taken people like Irvine Welsh, who really broke the boundaries there,” begins John. “In Wales we’ve got the same problem. Lots of literature is funded by the Arts Council and things like that, but they’re not very adventurous in what they publish, to say the least.”
John has been very vocal in his criticism of the Arts Council of Wales, so what exactly are they doing wrong? “What are they doing right, more like? I mean they just promote cliques, don’t they?” he says. “There’s so much money coming into Wales for the arts. There’s enough to go around. They should be doing something worthwhile with it, but they don’t.”
Unlike some critics of the establishment, John is willing to put forward ideas to change the way in which these funding bodies are run. They could start by looking for new talent, for one. “They say they do, but they don’t,” says John. “You’ve got to fit a certain mould. They’re frightened of people like myself and anyone who’s got something to say.”
Ah, that old rebellious streak – that’s what literature should be about, according to John. “Definitely. Everywhere else in the world it’s more about rebellion. In France they’ve got a great tradition of literature being anti-establishment and breaking new ground. And in America exactly the same. Everywhere writers tend to be more rebellious, the types of people you wouldn’t like at your party, but in Wales they are safe people who go to libraries and talk to old people.”
Another way to change the face of Welsh literature, believes John, would be to begin funding different publishing houses rather than the ones they have been supporting for decades. “Wales is lagging behind, I think. Book promotion is terrible in Wales. The Arts Council should look to start new publishers, new ventures, new talent and ability. Wales is full of it like anywhere, and you can see that coming through in the music,” he explains. “But unless people are given opportunities, what are they going to do? They’re going to write their novel or their poetry and sit at home and pass it round their friends and that’s about it. There’s lots of talent in the Valleys but we certainly don’t see much money. When we do it generally goes to the wrong people. They have their favourites and that’s it,” he says.
Frustrated with the lack of opportunities available to him, John set up his own publishing company, Underground Press. He also set up his web site, the Official John Evans Homepage (users.netmatters.co.uk/john.evans) and a local magazine Kulture Vulture. Such was the success of the magazine that it found its way on to the shelves of record shops as far away as London. “It’s nice to choose our own way,” says John of his publishing company. “To be in charge of the design, the promotion. In Wales they print about two hundred copies of a book and they never sell. They’ve had their Arts Council subsidy and that’s it. Nobody’s going to buy it anyway – get two hundred copies printed and put them in a box under your bed!”
He laughs. Whilst it may seems funny on the surface, the truth of the matter is that new talent is not getting the recognition it deserves. John is all for the DIY approach. “In Wales there are so many opportunities to do something because there’s so little going on. You just need more people and more energy and commitment to do it. Because we don’t have many examples of people setting things up in the community and it working, people think ‘Oh that’s beyond me. I can’t do it.’ We need to have more examples of people achieving something and then people will come along and say ‘Oh I know him – he’s not up to much!’ and have a go themselves.”