Darren McGarvey – Trauma Industrial Complex

Orwell Prize-winning author Darren McGarvey, AKA hip-hop artist Loki, offers a revealing, deeply personal exploration of the dangerous stories we tell ourselves about trauma.

Hailed as the new voice of a generation everywhere from the New York Times to the Guardian, Darren McGarvey is a boldly outspoken working-class writer and activist unafraid to speak to truth to power. In his bestseller Poverty Safari he did more than anyone to give voice to the anger of Britain’s underclass; as hip-hop artist Loki, his albums Trigger Warning and Government Issue Music Protest made him one of the most significant and thrilling musicians in Scotland today.

Now he returns to question the consequences of our trauma obsessed society.

Today, trauma permeates media, from music and television to films and books. While the increasing openness is welcome, Darren has observed that this rise has been accompanied by a parallel explosion of disinformation and sometimes harmful guidance about how to deal with personal trauma. In this series of live, in conversation events, he will ask: How did we get here? And are the stories we’re telling ourselves liberating us or keeping us trapped?

It’s time to pull back the curtain, sharing the hard-won wisdom Darren has gained from the events brought on by telling his own story.

Praise for the work of Darren McGarvey:

‘An Orwell for today's poor’ – The Times

‘The standout, authentic voice of a generation’ – Herald

‘McGarvey is a rarity: a working-class writer who has fought to make the middle-class world hear what he has to say’ – Nick Cohen, Guardian