Bedfordshire鈥檚 literary legends to be celebrated by new University initiative & competition

Fri 11 December, 2020
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The 亚色视频 has launched a new collaborative project 鈥 Literary Bedfordshire 鈥 which aims to celebrate the region鈥檚 famous and favourite writers through research and shared knowledge of local literary history.

This project elevates local narratives, placing Bedfordshire as a hub for internationally renowned literature. It also demonstrates how a university can act as a bridge between local creatives, young people and the wider community.听
听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 鈥听Emma Gill

Pilgrim's ProgressKnown to be the birthplace, residence or workplace of authors and playwrights (past and present) of renowned fictional, factual and biographical works 鈥 such as The Pilgrim鈥檚 Progress (1678), The Scarlet Vampire (1936), The Second Man (1956), Henny Penny (2006) and Home, I鈥檓 Darling (2018) 鈥 the region of Bedfordshire is rich with literary successes which the University wants to explore and share.

The Literary Bedfordshire project was originally spearheaded by Professor Alexis Weedon, Director of the Research Institute for Media, Arts & Performance (RIMAP), and Dr Nicola Darwood, Senior Lecturer and Course Co-ordinator with the School of Education & English Language (SEEL). They felt that a dedicated local literary project would help connect Bedfordshire鈥檚 schoolchildren with the region鈥檚 home-grown penmanship, books, plays and poetry 鈥 and ultimately help inspire the next generation of writers, creative thinkers and literary stars.

Professor Alexis Weedon said: "I was inspired by the story of circus elephants travelling up the A5 from Dunstable in the 1900s who, irritated by the sound of the early automobiles, turned on a car and pulled off the steering wheel.听 The author was Arnold Bennett who is more famous for his novels about the Potteries in Stoke-on-Trent. It got me thinking 鈥 who else travelled on these roads? And what other stories are there? I bet local people know 鈥 or we could find out!"

After sharing the idea amongst their peers, the initiative is now a collaborative effort between SEEL academics, RIMAP researchers and the University鈥檚 Arts & Culture and Collaborative Projects teams, with additional support from the Schools of Culture & Communications and Computer Science & Technology.

亚色视频 library

Utilising the online which have been sourced and digitally archived by the 亚色视频鈥檚 Library services, Literary Bedfordshire hopes to bring together and align the works and lives of writers who lived, worked or passed through the county of Bedfordshire, including John Bunyan, Christopher Fry, S.I. Martin and Vivian French.

Dr Nicola Darwood commented: "I鈥檓 really excited to be part of this collaborative project.听 We have so many great writers associated with Bedfordshire 鈥 some well-known, others to be reclaimed 鈥 and this is a wonderful opportunity to bring people together through a love of literature and our local heritage."

Clara HopgoodTo kick off the project, Literary Bedfordshire has announced a competition for school pupils in Key Stage 4 and 5 to enter, based around an extract from the 1896 novel Clara Hopgood by Mark Rutherford 鈥 a story set in a fictionalised version of Bedford town, penned by the pseudonym of local author, William Hale White.

The project鈥檚 team hopes this competition will offer pupils some extra-curricular fun over the festive break before heading back to study their GCSEs, A Levels or BTECs come January.听

Emma Gill, Arts & Culture Projects Manager, said: "I am delighted that the Arts & Culture Projects team is involved in this exciting cross-university collaboration. This includes continuing our deep working relationship with the Collaborative Projects team and RIMAP, as well as striking new collaborative models with the School of Cultural & Communications and the Faculty of Education & Sport.

鈥淭his project elevates local narratives, placing Bedfordshire as a hub for internationally renowned literature. It also demonstrates how a university can act as a bridge between local creatives, young people and the wider community."

鈥淭he Aspire Higher team is excited to be a part of this collaboration and we鈥檙e delighted by the opportunities that it offers to the schools we work with,鈥 added Paula Page, Collaborative Outreach Project Manager, who helps manage 鈥 an education outreach programme for pupils in years 9 to 13. She continued: 鈥Literary Bedfordshire is yet another excellent example of how bringing together different expertise produces great results and resources.鈥

The 鈥榗ritical response鈥 essay competition will close on 31st January 2021 and full details can be found on the Literary Bedfordshire webpage. The winner and runners up will be announced by 31st March 2021 and they will receive Waterstones vouchers to spend on their favourite books and stories.

Professor Alexis Weedon, Dr Nicola Darwood and the wider project team are busy planning the next round of activities which will be announced after the essay-writing competition closes. Follow , and on Twitter for updates about upcoming Literary Bedfordshire events and activities.

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