Literature Q&A: Olivia Laing and The Lonely City at Waterstones Deansgate

Olivia Laing is be appearing at Waterstones Deansgate, reading from The Lonely City, her new memoir/work of cultural criticism. The book chronicles her life during her mid-30s, when she moved from the UK to New York. Despite being surrounded by millions of people, she experienced feelings of isolation on a daily basis, and so began to explore the metropolis by way of art. She describes how artists and their works – including Edward Hopper’s ‘Nighthawks’ and David Wojnarowicz’s AIDS activism – reveal, address, or redress the lonely city. Local writer Dave Haslam will host a Q+A, where Laing will discuss subjects such as the differences between loneliness and being alone, and how both these states affect people’s creativity.

Tue 19 Apr, Waterstones, 91 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 2BW, Tel: 0161 837 3000, 7.00pm, £4 (Adv.), www.waterstones.com