At our university, teaching is a combination of creativity and authorship. Our academics are active writers, researchers, and creators. Their passion for writing and sharing ideas brings energy into the classroom, creating an inspiring and supportive learning place.
In this article, Lila Matsumoto, Jon McGregor and Andrew Harrison share their experiences, interests, and what drives their work, offering a glimpse into the creative spirit that defines our academic community.
Lila Matsumoto, Assistant Professor in Creative Writing
About me
I studied at Vassar College (in the US) for my undergraduate degree in English, then at the University of Aberdeen's Research Institute in Irish and Scottish Studies for my MA. During both degrees, I took classes in Creative Writing. I obtained my PhD at the University of Edinburgh in English Literature, writing a dissertation on Scottish little magazines of the 1960s that promoted transatlantic experiments in poetry. During my PhD studies, I ran a poetry magazine and performance platform called SCREE, which showcased poetry, visual art, and music.
My published literature
My full-length poetry collections are Two Twin Pipes Sprout Water (Prototype, 2021) and Urn and Drum (Shearsman, 2018). I have several chapbooks and poetry-objects out, from presses including Earthbound, Essence, Oo Press, and Sad Press. I also write creative-critical work, such as essays and radio pieces.
I love experimental forms of literature and what happens when creative writing becomes cross-pollinated by other art forms. I bring this curiosity to my teaching and often take my students to galleries and outdoor spaces, as well as run initiatives to self-publish and/or perform their poetry, to expand their practice.
My teaching
One of my favourite modules to teach is the second-year undergraduate module Poetry: Forms and Conventions. On the module, we think about different forms the poetic forms take, from established ideas about rhythm and form, to more expansive ideas about visual form and sound. I really enjoy the ideas that students bring to this module.
Another module I love to teach is the MA module 'Learning to Read: Criticism for Creative Writers'. For my sessions on this module, we explore how creative-critical writing can mobilise sources, voices, information, debates, vocabulary, and forms from literature, philosophy, history, politics, and other areas of knowledge to offer new ideas and ways of thinking about a subject.
We study and practice ways in which creative-critical work may weave together forms, use surprising or challenging forms, or invent new forms, to enter a conversation taking place about the subject of its enquiry.
My research focus
The main areas of my research and teaching are in twentieth and twenty-first-century poetry and fiction, with a focus on the modernist and contemporary period. I am particularly interested in experimental forms of production and performance of creative writing, and the points of contact, historical and potential, between literary practice, visual arts, and music.
I am currently researching poetry as autography (writing about a self that foregrounds the act of writing in the presentation of that self). Through the writing of my third book, I am exploring the possibilities of the autographic text as a form and aesthetic that channels the impulses of life writing (to share stories of the self) through the performative gestures and procedures of poetry.
My advice to you
My advice for new students is to read often and widely, and go to cultural events, including readings, music gigs, and performances. Be open and curious to all kinds of creative forms and write about your preoccupations.
Jon Mcgregor, Professor of Creative Writing
About me
I was born in 1976 in Bermuda and raised in Norfolk. I graduated from the University of Bradford in 1998 with a BSc in Media Technology and Production. From then until 2012, I worked outside academia as a novelist and short story writer. My first stories appeared in print in 1998, followed by my first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999 and the publication of my debut novel in 2002. Since then, I’ve balanced my professional life between writing and teaching writing.
My published literature
I'm able to speak with direct experience about many elements of the writing and publishing process, which students can sometimes find mystifying. For example:
- The initial process of developing ideas
- Habits and discipline of writing, the range of writing practices
- Seeking feedback and revising in response to it
- Working with an editor to develop a text
I'm able to draw on my professional relationships with mediators and others in the publishing industry to provide real-world examples of how writing and publishing function in practice. I also bring experience from serving on editorial boards and prize committees, which allows me to speak to how writing is assessed and considered professionally, particularly useful when discussing the grading of creative work, which students sometimes worry is unduly subjective (it's not).
My teaching
"Learning to Publish" is an MA module that I particularly enjoy teaching. On this module, the students work towards developing a piece of writing and publishing it. During the module, we consider a wide range of forms – small press pamphlets, zines, art books, blogs, digital stories, podcasts, video essays, and social media – and discuss how form, content, and context influence each other. How does a particular publishing platform influence the way the text will be written and the way that text is presented?
Do different publishing platforms suit audiences more than others? The module considers these questions and is a very hands-on exploration of different publication formats. It's always a delight to see what innovative and imaginative publications the students produce at the end of the module.
I am also the Founder and Editor in Chief of The Letters Page. Ran alongside our current PhD Editor Annabele we offer work experience through production, publication, marketing and editing. Giving everyone a feel for how a publishing house works together.
My advice to you
The number one thing I always suggest to students, both before they start the course and once they're on it, is to read, read, read. Reading is the best way to learn about how writing works! Read with a close eye on what the writer is doing; why they might be doing that, what else they might have considered doing, and why they have made particular choices.
Also, it sounds obvious, but a very good way of learning to write is to write a lot more. Write often, write regularly. Write silly things. Write notes. Write in response to things you've read; rewrite a story you've enjoyed in a different voice or from a different perspective. Write letters, write postcards, keep a diary. Find out what happens when you really play with language.
The students who get the most out of the MA Creative Writing course are usually those who want to be part of a writing and reading community mand make the most of the thriving literary life in Nottingham and beyond - going to book events, open mic nights, and getting together with their colleagues to read and write and talk about writing together.
Andrew Harrison, Associate Professor in English Literature
About me
I am an Associate Professor of English Literature and Director of the D. H. Lawrence Research Centre at the University of Nottingham. My research focuses primarily on D. H. Lawrence and other modernist authors, and I have published extensively in this field. My works on Lawrence include The Life of D. H. Lawrence: A Critical Biography (Wiley-Blackwell, 2016), the edited collection D. H. Lawrence in Context (Cambridge University Press, 2018), and the recent monograph The Life of the Author: D. H. Lawrence (Wiley-Blackwell, 2024). I also serve as President of the D. H. Lawrence Society of Great Britain.
My teaching
I teach one week on Lawrence on the MA module 'Modernism and the Avant-Garde in Literature and Drama'. In the current academic year, I also taught sessions on Katherine Mansfield and May Sinclair. I also contribute to the MA module 'Literary Histories'.
In 'Modernism and the Avant-Garde in Literature and Drama', students can study a range of major modernist authors, focusing on works in different forms. You study individual texts in depth but are also guided towards resources which enable you to take your analysis a stage further in the assessments, where you have the freedom to explore your topics in consultation with the tutors.
My research focus
My research on Lawrence and modernism informs my teaching at all levels. I am particularly interested in the material contexts of modernist writings (biography, manuscript studies, archival studies). On my final-year undergraduate module on Lawrence (the Lawrence strand of 'Single Author Study'), I consider with the students the historical contexts to his writing (suffragism; the First World War; the 1920s) alongside its aesthetic contexts (literary realism; formal experimentation).
My advice to you
I would encourage new students to take advantage of all the resources offered to them at Nottingham, both academically and in terms of the cultural and social opportunities. Read widely and speak with tutors about your interests, not only to plan towards assessments but also to broaden your academic horizons and discover and refine your interests.
Related School of English courses
You can view our related undergraduate courses below. To engage with our related master's courses, explore our MA English Literature and
MA Creative Writing.
Related courses
