Creative Engagement

Here at Nottingham we pride ourselves in getting involved with the local creative community. The School of English plays host to a range of public talks, lectures, and seminars. Staff members make regular appearances on local TV and radio, and our students are heavily involved in the on-campus student-led theatre.

Scroll down to discover the wide range of creative engagement activities that we are involved in.

Find out more about the School's public engagement activities

Bringing creativity into the local community

Overview

City events

The School of English is proud to be located in a city that is an official UNESCO City of Literature. Our staff and students are regularly involved in City of Literature events. We are also a partner of the annual Nottingham Festival of Literature. Each year, our staff contribute poetry readings, book talks, and lots more to the event programme.

Public events and talks

Our academics are active in the local and wider creative community, giving talks at theatres (Shakespeare’s Globe, the National Theatre, the RSC, Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham Theatre Royal; galleries (Nottingham Contemporary); literary festivals (Edinburgh, Derby) and for societies and reading groups. The Nottingham Festival of Literature takes place at the University and other local venues annually.

Poetry and prose readings

Many of our creative writing academics are also practicing poets and writers, who regularly participate in public poetry and prose readings. On an annual basis, a number of our staff take part in Derby Book Festival. The Nottingham Poetry Series, runs a monthly programme of public seminars, performance evenings, and a reading group.

Community research

Associate Professor Jo Robinson (English) and Dr Gary Priestnall (Geography) have developed an interactive map and research database to find out about how the spectators of performance in mid-nineteenth-century Nottingham moved on their way to the theatre, lecture rooms, or the town’s famous Goose Fair. The Mapping the Moment project has an interactive website.

Student-run theatre

University Park is home to The New Theatre, the country's first student-led theatre. Many of our English students are involved in the theatre, from writing and acting, directing and producing, set design, lighting, costume, and sound. New Theatre productions have impressed the judges at the National Student Drama Festival and received critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Radio feature

Professor Jim Moran from the School of English runs a regular books feature on BBC Radio Nottingham's afternoon show, usually on the first Wednesday of each month shortly after 2pm. The feature aims to introduce listeners to some of his favourite novels, poems and plays. You can listen again to the radio programmes by visiting BBC iPlayer.