Looking Down on Benidorm

Originally from northwest England, Matthew Clapham realised at a young age on a family trip to France that his destiny lay beyond the narrow confines of the island of his birth. After studying Spanish language and literature, and teaching English on three continents, he settled in Spain, where he works as a translator.Gradually sliding down the Mediterranean coast from Girona near the French border, he ended up in Alicante, unexpectedly nearby the cheap, cheerful and chavvy resort of Benidorm. As AI began to eat away at his translation work, he found time to resume more creative writing, from satirical fiction to poetry to cultural and linguistic essays.Looking Down on Benidorm is the result of his ongoing exploration of the unseen history and cultural implications of his neighbouring town, and the light it casts on the societies of both his original and adopted homelands.More of his writing can be found online at substack.com/@matthewclapham and medium.com/@matthewclapham. He is also the founder and editor of the publicationIberospherical (medium.com/iberospherical).