English & Comparative Literary Studies News

Comparative Literature Studies devotes their latest forum on Combined and Uneven Development: Towards a New Theory of World-Literature, a book collectively authored by present and former members of the department. Available here:

http://muse.jhu.edu/issue/34261

Kenilworth Arts Festival is an exciting new festival taking place across a range of venues in Kenilworth between the 12-18 September. There are close connections between the festival and the University, as not only is Warwick sponsoring the festival but two directors of the festival, Lewis Smith and Charlotte Thomas, are current students at Warwick, and a number of the artists are university staff and alumni. Here's the full schedule, and the University's own press release.

The programme features intimate gigs, poetry readings, talks, workshops and a free, open-air fiesta in the beautiful Abbey Fields including:

• David Morley (English Dept.) is curating an evening of poetry as part of the festival programme. Five other award-winning poets will appear alongside David, including a number of Warwick alumni (Claire Trévien, Luke Kennard and Jonathan Edwards)
• Kitty Macfarlane, Warwick alumni, singer-songwriter appearing at a concert in Kenilworth Castle on Saturday 17 September
• The illustrations that appear on the festival’s website and on promotional materials were produced by Warwick alumni Victoria Watson
• Warwick Arts Centre will be running interactive workshops at Fiesta, the free open-air event in Abbey Fields on Sunday 18 September
• Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi, writer-in-residence at Lacuna (a project stemming from the Centre for Human Rights in Practice at Warwick), is running a workshop on human rights journalism

As part of a project funded by the Leverhulme Trust on ‘Oriental poetry, Latin scholarship and the European Enlightenment: The case of William Jones’, a three-year PhD studentship will be available from 1 October 2016 in the Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies at the University of Warwick. The studentship will cover university fees and maintenance at the current rates for eligible Home or EU students.

Supervised by Dr John Gilmore, the student will complete a thesis within the field of European receptions of Oriental literature c. 1750-1850, with a focus on translations into Latin. The student will also participate in other activities attached to the research project, including conferences, and work alongside a team of researchers including Dr Stefano Pellò (Università Ca’ Foscari, Venice). Applicants will have a background in Classics and/or Comparative Literary Studies, including a good first degree and a master’s degree, and a good reading knowledge of Latin is required. A prior knowledge of, or a demonstrable willingness to learn, a relevant non-European language (which might include, but would not be limited to, one of the following: Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Sanskrit, Chinese) would be an advantage. A prior demonstrable interest in an aspect of Neo-Latin or Classical Reception Studies would also be an advantage.

Potential applicants are encouraged to contact Dr Gilmore directly at J.T.Gilmore@warwick.ac.uk. Proposals need not relate specifically to the work of Sir William Jones, but must be relevant to the general field of the research project, as indicated above. Applicants should send a cover letter outlining their suitability for the studentship, a CV and a writing sample via email to Dr Gilmore. Applicants should furthermore arrange for two academic references to be sent by email to Dr Gilmore at the same email address. The deadline for all application materials is 16 September 2016.

Prof Emma Mason has been awarded a British Academy/Leverhulme Trust small research grant to support her symposium on the poet Elizabeth Jennings in October.

Congratulations to AL Kennedy, Associate Professor in the Writing Programme, on the longlisting of her most recent novel, Serious Sweet, for the Man Booker Prize 2016. Reviews include The Observer, The Spectator and the Financial Times. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was twice included in the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list. She has won awards including the 2007 Costa Book Award and the Austrian State Prize for International Literature. Her professional website is here.