This week we discuss a chapter and epilogue from Lauren Elkin’s book Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London (2016). Many thanks to Liam Harrison for suggesting our reading this week.
Category: Page Breaks
Hierarchy (2pm, Wed 22 May)
We’re moving from heroes to hierarchies this week, discussing a chapter from Caroline Levine’s Forms.
Heroes and Epic (Wed 15 May 2019)
This week we’ll be thinking about heroes and epic, reading two texts as a starting-point: a short section from Dean Miller’s The Epic Hero and passages from Derek Walcott’s poem Omeros.
The Cultural Politics of Popular Fantasy: Ramzi Fawaz (Wed 8 May 2019)
To start off the summer term, we’re reading a short section from Ramzi Fawaz’s book The New Mutants (2016).
Works Loved: How Texts Matter To Us (27 March 2019)
Academia can often feel overwhelming, with multiple pressures competing for our time and headspace. This seminar is about remembering why we got into this business in the first place – namely, the ‘love’ (and we can discuss this term) we feel for the books, poems, and ideas that make up our discipline.
Milkman (Wed 20 March 2019, 2pm)
In a change from the usual format, this week our text is a novel: Milkman, by Anna Burns (2018).
Why Ecopoetry? (Wed 13 March, 2pm)
This week we are thinking about poetics and environmentalism, reading John Shoptaw’s essay ‘Why Ecopoetry?’ (2016). Many thanks to Miranda Jones for suggesting our text this week.
A Writer’s Sense of Place (Wed 6 March 2019, 2pm, Arts 247)
This week we are reading Louise Erdrich’s essay on ‘A Writer’s Sense of Place’. Many thanks to Will Carroll for suggesting our reading this week.
Declining British Fiction? (Wed 27 Feb 2019, 2pm)
This week’s text is Jennifer Hodgson and Patricia Waugh’s response to claims of a decline in British fiction. Many thanks to Liam Harrison for suggesting our reading this week
On Keeping a Notebook: Reading Joan Didion (20 Feb 2019, 2pm)
This week we’ll compare notes on how we record our ideas and observations – whether for research, writing or personal pleasure. Our text this week is Joan Didion’s ‘On Keeping a Notebook’.