B.S. Johnson is a legendary ‘underground’ figure: an ‘experimental’ novelist whose work is only now being recognised and celebrated for its ground breaking and provocative originality.

Johnson studied a pre degree level course in English, Latin and History at Birkbeck in 1955/6 whilst working at Standard Oil. His first novel was published in 1963, but it was later works, such as The Unfortunates (1969) that perhaps best show Johnson’s innovations with form: the book was published in a cardboard box, and readers could read it in more or less any order. Receiving early accolades from Samuel Beckett, Johnson went on to establish his reputation both nationally and internationally. He worked across diverse fields of cultural production: active in film making, TV, theatre and acting as poetry editor of Transatlantic Review. Johnson won the Eric Gregory Award in 1962 and the Somerset Maughan award in 1967. As he predicted, his fame came posthumously- Jonathan Coe’s biography (2004) certainly helped establish Johnson’s reputation. His worked has since been turned into films, has provided the focus for conferences and has also been celebrated musically, Luke Haines’ 2001 album being a good example of Johnson’s continuing cultural reach.

Scholars in English and law at Birkbeck have worked on, are working on- and publishing on Johnson’s work.

Born in Hammersmith, Johnson was from a humble background (his mum was a barmaid and his dad a stock keeper). He remained proud of his working class roots, and working class culture- and saw no contradiction between this and his interest in European and avant garde traditions. Birkbeck enable Johnson to get a degree (he actually graduated from Kings). As Coe’s biography shows, studying literature was central to Johnson’s career as a novelist and a poet. Johnson is evidence of the ‘Birkbeck effect’– a figure of international and ongoing cultural importance. He exemplifies the way in which Birkbeck encourages creativity, and provides a trajectory for those who have vision and talent to realise their trajectory.