Welcome to Spotlight, the Faculty of English Language & Literature’s alumni newsletter.
Issue 8
Despite the continuing restrictions, Trinity Term has been a hive of activity at the English Faculty. Alice Oswald has continued her tenancy as Professor of Poetry with more inspiring public lectures hosted by TORCH. On Behalf of a Pebble was a lecture about living and dead objects inside living and dead poems and Sidelong Glances offered oblique comments on the poetry of Marianne Moore. All of Professor Oswald’s talks are still available to watch online.
Trinity Term also saw the launch of two diversity initiatives supported by the English Faculty: Telling Our Stories Better and Opening Oxford 1871. Read the Spotlight on Research section below to find out more.
We were delighted to see Professor Sally Shuttleworth awarded a CBE for services to English Literature and Dr Sally Bayley elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. This was followed by more good news: Dr Merve Emre was appointed as one of the judges of the 2022 International Booker Prize and Professor Helen Small was made a Fellow of the English Association.
Trinity Term also marks Professor Ros Ballaster’s last term as Chair of the Faculty Board. After leading the Faculty for four years and steering us through the particular challenges of the last 18 months, Professor Ballaster will be handing over the reins to Professor Marion Turner, who features in our Spotlight on Staff section below.
