Nobody wants to be alone: everybody wants to belong. Sociability is part of what makes humans such a successful species, but it’s when groups become gangs that the fun stops and the trouble starts …

You’ll find plenty of gangs in the following pages: some you’ll want to join, some you’d run a mile from – and maybe even some to which you already belong. In this month’s issue of Litro we’re going to intrigue, move and unnerve you with tales of chain gangs and girl gangs, school gangs and old-fashioned gangsters; gangs that protect and those that destroy. From the mob instincts of the lads on the lash in Yorgos Trillidis’s Sunday, to the swashbuckling adventures of a pirate crew in Michael Spring’s brilliantly surreal Narky Jack, we’ve got gangs in all their glamour and glory.

Sara Maitland’s atmospheric jungle-set Watu explores the power and vulnerability of being an outsider in a tribal society, whereas David Mildon’s Red gives us a glimpse of tribes closer to home, when football fans clash. Meanwhile, Tessa North brings us the Deep South, and a prisoner desperate to shed his chains, while Melissa Katsoulis’s true account of a daring literary hoax shows just how far one middle-class white girl went to feel part of the gang.

But believe it or not, that’s not all – not by a long shot. We’ve also got a brand-new, prize-winning translation of a Verlaine poem about a gang of harlequins and pierrots, a mobster hoist by his own car-yard, and a shoot-out in a cinema.

So, it’s up to you. Do you wanna be in our gang? Just turn the page.

Katy Darby

Editor

Previously an award winning journalist, Aminatta Forna is now an acclaimed writer. In 2003 The Devil that Danced on the Water, a memoir about her father, was runner up for Britain’s most prestigious non-fiction award, the Samuel Johnson Prize 2003. In 2007 Aminatta was named by Vanity Fair as one of Africa’s most promising new writers and her work has been translated into nine languages. Her new novel The Memory of Love (Bloomsbury), a story about friendship, war and obsessive love, was published in April.

Aminatta talked to us about her childhood, literature and living between cultures.

What is your earliest childhood memory?

My dog choking to death on a bone and my father with his hand down the dog’s throat trying to save him. He was a doctor and he pt the dog down when all else failed.

What makes you happy?

I am happy unless something makes me unhappy.

I wanted to write stories for a living when I was at school. Adults around me were generally discouraging. I became a journalist. The imperative to write re-emerged with the realisation that journalism could not express those things I saw and wanted to describe.

What are you reading at the moment? What advice will give to a first time writer? What is your guiltiest pleasure?

I am reading Fatima Bhutto’s ‘Songs of Blood and Sword’ about the murder of her father and the Bhutto dynasty. It is full of rage, pity and courage, as well as being beautifully written. Advice to the first time writer – invest in yourself. Save up and buy time to write. Be prepared to be broke. Writing is like starting your own business. The first few years are all about investing until you begin to see returns. My guiltiest pleasure – watching Gladiator (again).

How do you relax?

Some people don’t think I do. I am most relaxed scuba diving or on horseback. Failing that, since I live in London most of the time – its a large glass of red wine and reading in the bath.

What is the most important thing life has taught you?

Growing up in two cultures I learned there is usually more than one way of doing something. I am constantly amazed by people who think there is only one way – and that’s their way.

Aminatta Forna was born in Glasgow and raised in Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom. Formally an award winning journalist for the BBC, she is now a full-time writer. Her most recent published works are Ancestor Stones, a novel set in West Africa, and The Devil that Danced on the Water, a memoir of her dissident father and her country.In addition she has also published essays and articles, and written for television and radio. Her latest work, The Memory of Love, is out now.

www.aminattaforna.com

JUNE EVENTS

Frights, festivals, flamenco and fiction pull the punches during June´s events, bringing inspiration in the loom of austerity, edited by Alex James.

1^st – 6^th June, King´s Head Theatre, Upper Street.
The European Arts Company invites you on a trip down the smoggy, gaslit alleyways of Victorian London to hear ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde’.  Set in a tavern in 1888, a versatile ensemble cast will re-enact this classic tale using only the things you would find in a pub. See: www.kingsheadtheatre.org

7th June, The Orange Prize For Fiction, Southbank Centre.
The Southbank Centre will host a series of events in June celebrating the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction. As the prize reaches its 15th birthday, co-founder Kate Mosse, will host an evening of discussion with previous judges on the prize’s impact and vision for the future on Monday 7th June. The following day will see the return of the incredibly popular Orange Prize Shortlist Readings at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. For more information visit www.orangeprize.co.uk

11^th – 13^th June 2010, Toast, Clapham Common.
All things Antipodean, from barbies to books … Inspired by the culture of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, the Toast festival takes place from Friday 11th June to Sunday 13th June, with each day celebrating a different culture. It is the largest celebration of the Southern hemisphere within the UK. For further information visit www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/toast/2010

11th June & 25th June, High Tease, Brighton (11th) and Bath (25th)

The Ministry of Burlesque’s risqué revue, featuring showgirls, comic cabaret and song. Dress up in your finest, dandiest get up for events in Brighton and then Bath this June. See www.komedia.co.uk for both venues.

12^th – 13^th June, Open Squares Weekend, various parts of London.
Peer behind the walls of London’s private community gardens and squares. Ranging from the historically memorable to the small and quirky, from the contemporary and eco-friendly to renowned roof gardens, cemeteries and working allotments. See: www.opensquares.org

13^th June, Coin Street Festival, South Bank.
Events take place in and around Bernie Spain Gardens, adjacent to the Oxo Tower Wharf. All events are free.  The festival kicks off with Celebrating Sanctuary on Sunday 13^th June.  Celebrating the start of International Refugee Week, the festival features music, dance, spoken word, food, drink and craft from cultures around the world. For more information visit http://www.coinstreet.org/coinstreet_festival.aspx

19^th June, Festival Brazil, Southbank Centre.
Bringing the vibrant, dynamic culture of contemporary Brazil to the heart of London, Festival Brazil celebrates the country’s rich cultural heritage – including music, visual arts, dance, literature, debates and food. See: www.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/festivals-series/festival-brazil

19^th – 27^th June, Kew Music Festival.
World-famous violinist Nicola Benedetti and actress Juliet Stevenson are among the outstanding artists who will star in the first ever Kew Music Festival. Audiences will be given the rare opportunity to see these top-class acts perform in stunning and historic venues during this exciting nine-day festival, which runs from 19th to 27th June 2010. For more information about performances, artists and booking, please visit www.kewmusicfestival.com

24^th June – 4^th July, Greenwich+Docklands International Festival 2010 – OutfortheElements – EARTH.
The second of four annual festivals inspired by the elements, the 2010 Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (GDIF) has become one of Europe’s foremost international arts festivals. The Festival’s free programme includes outdoor spectacle, fresh and original contemporary theatre, dance in unusual settings, interactive experiences and participatory events. Ties in with a season of light shows at the Greenwich Royal Observatory. See: www.festival.org

24^th June – 4^th July, The Holloway Arts Festival, North London.
The Holloway Arts Festival returns this year with its most exciting and varied programme yet. From Highgate to Highbury and Tufnell Park to Finsbury Park, the festival brings a range of events to North London, including music, spoken word, visual arts, crafts, theatre and comedy. For more information visit www.hollowayartsfestival.co.uk

29^th June – 3^rd July, Flamenco Festival, Islington.
Following its première in 2009, legendary flamenco guitarist Paco Peña returns to Sadler’s Wells with his latest show ‘Flamenco sin Fronteras’. Inspired by the diverse sights, sounds and cultures of Latin America, the show sees the Flamenco maestro work with 12 virtuoso musicians, singers and dancers from his own company and guest artists from Venezuela. See: www.sadlerswells.com

Our latest issue is out on the streets! Issue 95 is themed around North London and features a fantastic line-up of short fiction and poetry at its best.

You can browse the stories online here at litro.co.uk (as well as checking out our archived issues). If you love having your own shiny, handy-sized copy of Litro to hold in your hands each month, or would like to have the opportunity to (perhaps you’re out of London too often, if at all?), then you can become a Friend of Litro. This allows you to receive your copy to your home each month, as well as other special offers, including deals on Litro Live! tickets. For full details, visit our Friends page here.

Litro no.95 is also available from all the usual places – underground stations, libraries, galleries, cafes, bars and bookstores. This includes selected branches of Waterstones and independent bookshops, both Tate galleries, Kings Cross and Euston stations and most recently, branches of Cafe Rouge. For a full list of locations, just click here.