Alumnus Henry Palmer, who graduated with a BA (Hons) in Film and Philosophy in 2016, was interviewed for the Bristol Post last week, as he has authored a non-fiction book Voices of Bristol (Arkbound Press, 2019).
This book is about Bristol’s changing face. Henry grew up in the heart of Bristol’s ghetto, and his book sheds light on the supposed ‘renovation’ that Bristol’s poorer quarters have been undergoing. For his research, he interviewed members of the local community, which revealed the shocking reality that residents face: rent hikes, snobbery, institutional racism, homelessness, and removal from the communities they once loved.
‘When you start to hear that you and your friends can’t afford to live there anymore because house prices have surged so much and it’s now up and coming, it’s a bit bitter sweet,’ he observes in the interview.
Speaking of his time at Kent, Henry told us: ‘For some reason, my time at Kent is grouped closely in my mind with imaginings of a young, studious Scrooge – though admittedly less grey. Not all universities harvest this sort of independence of learning, and this carried me through the enterprise and continues to do so.’
To read the interview with Henry in the Bristol Post, please see the page here:
www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/gentrification-bristol-what-it-happening-3030745