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An Interview with Martin Hoyles Biblio.com Authors
Martin Hoyles has been a visiting lecturer in Japan, Malaysia, several English universities, colleges and schools and is currently a senior lecturer in Communication Studies at The University of East London. He also taught English for ten years in Newham secondary schools. He has written several books on the history of gardening and has edited books on literacy and childhood.
With his wife, Asher, Martin wrote Remember Me: Achievements of Mixed Race People, Past and Present and Moving Voices: Black Performance Poetry. His most recent book is called The Axe Laid to Root, The Story of Robert Wedderburn. Robert Wedderburn is an historical figure of mixed race who was one of the key campaigners against slavery at the beginning of the nineteenth century. For more information about titles by Martin Hoyles and Asher Hoyles published by Hansib Publications, visit Hansib Books.
You have written, co-written and edited books on topics that seem unrelated - gardening, education, and historical figures of non-white and mixed race background. Is there significant crossover in your interests as an author? How do you feel that crossover is expressed in your books?
The main perspective relating all the books I have written is a political one. Many of the subjects of the books are usually seen as non-political, e.g. gardening, literacy, childhood, but when you examine them carefully they are drenched in politics! Also it is always important to see everything from a historical perspective.
Could tell us a little about your thesis in relation to the history of gardening? Why have so many been so committed to the labor of maintaining a garden?
My main thesis in relationship to gardening is to look at key political issues, such as labour, gender, colonialism and see how they impinge on gardening. See 'The Story of Gardening' and also my two volumes on gardening books 1560-1960. As well as discussing exploitation, they also celebrate the pleasure in gardening.
What books would you recommend to those with a passion for gardening and an interest in its history and politics? What sources have you found the most useful?
A book that influenced me is 'English Cottage Gardens' by Edward Hyams. Also 'The Allotment: Its Landscape and Culture' by David Crouch and Colin Ward. I very much enjoyed writing 'The Gardener's Perpetual Almanack', published by Thames & Hudson.
What do you see as the major driving force behind your work? Is it the same for all the topics on which you write?
The major driving force behind the books is to make them accessible and to inform and stimulate readers in an exciting way, whilst being theoretically and academically sound. Our recent book on Dyslexia, for example, is in a large print, with lots of illustrations and jokes. It has just had a brilliant review by the international expert, Gavin Reid, in the British Dyslexia Association journal 'Contact'. We also believe in ethical writing. The three books we have co-authored contain around 30 interviews with people. All of them have been sent drafts of the transcribed interviews for their approval before publishing.
Reactions to your work seem to be overwhelmingly positive. Are you ever surprised that there is not more controversy? Have you been subjected to any racist backlash? If so, how has that affected your work moving forward?
The main racist and sexist backlash came from the OCR examining board, which finally turned down our book on Black Performance Poetry for use in the GCSE English curriculum, ostensibly because of a poem on menstruation! (See our website for a full account of this disgraceful event.) Otherwise reactions have been very positive (see reviews) with people stopping us on the street to congratulate us!
Much of your work focusses on issues of mixed-race identity. In your view, what are the most vital questions we must explore today? What do we stand to gain by looking closely at historical figures like Robert Wedderburn, the subject of your book The Axe Laid to the Root?
The work on mixed-race identity ('Remember Me: Achievements of Mixed-Race People, Past & Present') was specifically written for our daughter, so that she would be aware of all the issues and feel confident in her identity. (Many people still do not know, for instance, that figures such as Frederick Douglass, Mary Seacole and Bob Marley were mixed-race.)It is the only book of its kind and has just been reprinted. The book on Robert Wedderburn continues this aim, but also, like my recent book on Ira Aldridge, rescues some key black characters from being hidden from history for so long.
Several of your books are directed at young readers. How would you describe your goal in writing for young audiences?
Both Asher and I have worked for many years teaching young people and we are very pleased to know that our books are used in schools, because especially black, mixed-race and working-class pupils (see, for instance, the book written by Striking Miners' Children More Valuable Than Gold) need to see themselves in the curriculum and know the positive side to their history.
Is there anything you would care to share about the book you are writing currently?
We are now writing a book on the publisher Arif Ali, who has been the biggest and longest-lasting black publisher in this country, over nearly 40 years. He has been woefully neglected in the academic literature. The book will look at the history of Caribbean publishing in Britain over the last 100 years and the history of Guyana, before concentrating on Arif Ali's life and achievements. I am also researching a book on the black Chartist leader, William Cuffay.
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