Surrey English Blog

Though I’m only half way through my placement year with Eagle Radio, I can already say with confidence that it’s the best decision I’ve made with regards to the progress of my career so far. The decision itself was made around April/May of my second year studying English Literature with Creative Writing at the University […]

In November 2012 my first book, The Poet’s Mind: The Psychology of Victorian Poetry 1830-1870, was published by Oxford University Press. The book is an academic monograph, investigating a specific area of English literature which interests and enthuses me, and I’ve been working on the project, in different forms, for six years. At the end […]

Students on the Contemporary British and American Poetry Creative Writing course in the School of English and Languages here at Surrey will be holding a reading of their work on Wednesday 12th December 2012. Presenting their work in short snappy readings will be Laura Colledge, Wafik Doss, Sophie Goodman, James Griffin, Rebecca Hillard, Annabel Knowlson, […]

If you’re applying to University this year, the chances are you’ll be invited to an Applicant Day by those institutions that make you an offer. You might already be feeling pretty popular and wondering how you’re going to fit in visits to your top choices alongside the demands of your A-levels. As an Admissions Tutor […]

The University of Surrey Music and Drama Society’s first production of the year was utter filth – and I loved it. Written by and starring Laurence Williams (4th Year, English Literature with Creative Writing) and co-directed by Emily Clegg (2nd Year, English Literature with Creative Writing) and Chris Evans, You’ve Been Tagged was a relentlessly […]

As part of the University of Surrey Careers Service’s ‘Welcome to my World’ series of talks on Wednesday 21st November our students had the opportunity to attend a fascinating talk from Jonathan Steffen on the topic of how to make a living as a writer. Jonathan Steffen has specialised in international corporate communications for twenty-five […]

The first Veer Books publication to be produced at the University of Surrey, Peter Larkin’s Imparkments, was launched as part of the Veer Books readings on Saturday November 17th at the Small Publishers Fair 2012 at the Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1. The SPF is organized by RGAP (Research Group for Artists Publications), […]

What does the House of Laity have in common with Hilary Mantel’s novel Wolf Hall? On Tuesday, the draft Measure for the consecration of women bishops was defeated in the House of Laity. The arguments against the Measure were complex. Some were concerned with the terms of the legislation, and some were made on theological […]

A placement year in a degree like English Literature might not seem like a natural fit at first. Other degrees pair off quite nicely with certain jobs; Aerospace Engineers do plane engineering, a Psychology student might do psychiatry, Biochemists do experiments on chemicals in the body in research institutes (forgive me if this is vague, […]

James Bond and Alfred Tennyson seem like an odd pairing. In their own ways, though, they’re both British institutions, old-fashioned and perhaps outdated. They might be loved or tolerated for their place in cultural history, but, arguably, they’re not immediately relevant to twenty-first-century concerns. This issue is directly addressed in the latest 007 film, Skyfall, […]