In the City of Night, a poem by John Gould Fletcher published in 1921, remains a high point in the literature of the city and its effect on the human condition.

This publication reimagines the work, combining new images with many from my photo archive. It sets the poem visually in London’s West End, a place I know well and that continues to inspire my practice. This location’s choice, interestingly, reflects the moods and emotions in Fletcher’s words. The publication features Piccadilly and Soho, but touches upon ‘Tin Pan Alley’ (Denmark Street) and Centre Point. This area has had an intriguing, often dark history, once the site of the notorious Rookery of St Giles in the 18th and 19th centuries. Even with recent redevelopment, it retains a distinctive atmosphere that feels exciting, yet often still sinister and edgy.

Through urban geographic meditation and place observation, I use text and image to create a dynamic reading. My goal is to reignite interest in this seminal work. All type is set in two typefaces by English artist and typographer Eric Gill: Joanna Nova for text and Gill Sans Nova Inline for titles. This pairing creates a timeless, distinctly London aesthetic that references both mid-century UK publishing and underground publications from any era.

Using a Riso print output enabled an experimental process, creating a textural dimension that mirrors the poem's themes of grit and emotional desolation, as well as London's past and present, which I use as source material. The result is a moody yet evocative DIY aesthetic, nodding to the visual language of countercultural and contemporary subcultural zine print culture.