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Image description: Professor Sunny Singh holding the Jhalak prize trophy 2019 First awarded in 2017, the Jhalak Prize was founded to celebrate books of all descriptions written by British citizens or British residents of colour. The idea came from two writers, Sunny Singh and Nikesh Shukla, who are supported by the authors club, media diversified […]
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Jen Campbell is a bestselling author and award-winning poet. Her most recent books include ‘The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night’, ‘The Girl Aquarium’ and a series of children’s picture books. I was lucky enough to talk to Jen about poetry, the importance of children’s voices, and the magic of online […]
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In the world of British politics, Mark Fisher may be the most influential person you’ve never heard of. Swathes of the contemporary left are in his ideological debt, and the ideas with which he made his name – capitalist realism and hauntology – form the basis for large parts of what we understand as the […]
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For many writers, the need to experience the places where their stories are set and study them closely and purposefully seems essential before sitting down to write. The prime example of this is Iain Sinclair who stalked across London in order to collect anecdotes, faces, fragments of imagery and notes on buildings. Another such writer […]
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Non-fiction often gets a bad reputation: Lacking in adventure and escapism. Educating rather than entertaining. Being outright dull. Many denounce its ability to provide anything other than a subjective view of reality and a breakdown of the most current affairs. Some look exclusively to fiction to fulfil their need for escapism, oblivious to the incredible […]
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When I arrived to watch a rehearsal of Garden, most of the cast were wearing plant pots on their heads. This, it turned out, was not a daring fashion statement, but an image which captured the essence of Jack Bradfield’s witty, heartfelt new comedy. Garden follows Elizabeth, a phytologist (plant scientist), and a group of […]
Continue ReadingFlo Read graduated from Oxford last year, and has written numerous acclaimed plays which have been performed both nationally and internationally; Twin Primes won Best Production and Best Writing at the 2015 Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) New Writing Festival, and Cold Warm went to the Edinburgh Fringe last year. She chats with Megan Husain […]
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Katrina Gaffney and Megan Husain attend previews of two of the New Writing Festival Plays – The Optimists and Proper Conduct. Both plays leave the reviewers excited and hopeful for the pieces that are being performed in Oxford this week. The Optimists After seeing a preview of The Optimists I have very high hopes for this […]
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Between seventeen novels (most recently Thomas & Mary, a Love Story), a selection of literary criticism and non-fiction, talks spanning several continents and a post as Associate Professor of Literature and Translation at IULM in Milan, Tim Parks is likely qualified to answer questions on more subjects than I could realistically stretch into what at […]
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OxStu Art and Lit are delighted to announce that our End-of-Summer Arts Competition is now accepting submissions! The summer vac is a mystical time where all of Oxford’s photographers, painters, poets, and writers disperse all over the world, taking a break from writing their tutorial essays by creating amazing art. Now, we want to share […]
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Lolloping around Blackwells faced with the self-imposed challenge to put down the Byron and Lawrence and read more new poetry, the distorted blue henge on the front of Astéronymes immediately presented itself to me as an interesting read. Now, normally, this finely-tuned, well-honed book-selection technique really doesn’t go that well and leaves me feeling all […]
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If Lisa Blower’s short stories are anything to go by, then her debut novel, Sitting Ducks, is something to get excited about. She has previously won The Guardian’s National Short Story competition, was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award, as well as being featured in Comma Press and Radio 4. I chat to […]
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In his memoir about the ‘rat-race’, Raymond grapples with uncertainties about who he is, where he is going, and what he is trying to achieve. Unfortunately for his reader, the book has the same problem. It promises to address the ‘ultimate question: What should I be doing with my days on Earth?’. This ambitious opening […]
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You rise above yourself and look down at the paths below you. There are two: the one you think you want and the other one. You focus in on the former, imagining a smooth, comfortable surface, stopping-places filled with sumptuous food and sophisticated parties, perhaps even a crowd gathering to cheer you on your way. […]
Continue ReadingWalking into “Bang Said the Gun”, “the poetry event for people who don’t like poetry”, you will uncover an atmosphere of raucous revelry unique in the world of spoken word. Music blasts, the crowd wave their shakers (or, milk bottles filled with rice) and the hosts weave through the room, chanting and ramping up the […]
Continue ReadingEver feel like the only ignoramus in a roomful of culture aficionados? If you can’t be a buff, learn to bluff… RENAISSANCE ART Need To Know •The emergence of the Renaissance art movement marked a cultural shift from the 14th to the mid-17th centuries and the birth of the Modern era. Leonardo, Raphael, Botticelli and […]
Continue Reading“You must stay drunk on writing so that reality cannot destroy you.” Ray Bradbury As the weather turns colder, it gets increasingly easier to stay curled up in bed, under the duvet, reveling in the warmth of dreams. But you need to get up, tear yourself out of the sheets, and deal with the world. Sometimes […]
Continue ReadingA CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS “After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” -Philip Pullman Whether we realise it or not, we tell stories all the time. When someone asks you how you are, you answer with a story, whether it is a rant about your latest tutorial […]
Continue ReadingWill Upton discusses the art of writing about music. When I came to Oxford I knew I’d soon be sweating over essay deadlines and presentations. I probably thought a weekly column would be some light relief. I have an admission to make: writing about music is really hard to do. Writing about music for a […]
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