Hi everyone!<\/p>\n
After a brief hiatus, the MSt blog is now back with updates from the new course team: Clare, Amal, Kate, Mary Jean and Barney. We’re kicking off with an entry from Mary Jean, our new Departmental Lecturer in Poetry. Here is what they have been reading and researching lately:<\/p>\n
What I\u2019m Reading Now<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Stone Yard Devotional<\/em> by Charlotte Wood<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a mesmerizing novel which meditates on how we might respond to our world\u2019s multiple crises (ecological or otherwise) \u2013 can we flee from them as the protagonist in the novel attempts to do by deciding to live in a convent, and is it in fact possible to keep ourselves safe from the uncomfortable truths we\u2019d rather not look in the eye? The novel asks difficult questions about forgiveness, guilt and how one might live ethically. I loved Wood\u2019s writing style; she has the precision of a poet and draws the reader in with sensual, atmospheric scenes.<\/p>\n James<\/em> by Percival Everett<\/strong><\/p>\n I found Everett\u2019s retelling of the classic story of Huckleberry Finn deeply moving and eye-opening. Language is foregrounded in this novel: it becomes a tool for camouflage for slaves who need to appear as if they can\u2019t read or speak eloquently to satisfy the twisted egos and expectations of their white slave owners. I also found the complex friendship between James and Huck to be honest and sincere, and it is ultimately their relationship which constitutes the beating heart of this novel. This is a book which will stay with me for a very long time.<\/p>\n Current Projects \/ Research<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n I am researching what \u2018queer reading\u2019 means in preparation for the 2025 LGBT+ History Month lecture which I will be giving next year at Oxford. I\u2019ve been excited about a forthcoming book titled The Edinburgh Companion to Queer Reading<\/em> (2024) and have been returning to the writings of Sara Ahmed for inspiration, particularly Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others<\/em> (2006). I am also working on an essay for a series in Poetry Magazine<\/em> called \u2018Hard Feelings\u2019, having chosen \u2018anger\u2019 as the feeling I\u2019d like to focus on. This is proving to be a hard essay to write indeed, but it has also been a nice excuse for me to return to interesting work by D.W. Winnicott, Alison Bechdel and Darian Leader which are enabling me to think through familiar concepts in a different light.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hi everyone! After a brief hiatus, the MSt blog is now back with updates from the new course team: Clare, Amal, Kate, Mary Jean and Barney. We’re kicking off with an entry from Mary Jean, our new Departmental Lecturer in Poetry. Here is what they have been reading and researching lately: What I\u2019m Reading Now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-publications","category-tutor_news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p40Qhf-zZ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2109,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=2109","url_meta":{"origin":2231,"position":0},"title":"MSt tutor Mary Jean Chan reading at Kellogg College, Oxford on Thursday 19th May","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"May 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This Thursday, 19 May, there will be poetry readings and discussion with two acclaimed poets, Theophilus Kwek and Mary Jean Chan, who will be in conversation with Niall Munro. This event will run from 17:30-18:30 in the Mawby Room, Kellogg College. Refreshments will be provided. Places are free and all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-18-175214.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-18-175214.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-18-175214.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-18-175214.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1467,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=1467","url_meta":{"origin":2231,"position":1},"title":"MSt tutor Alice Jolly’s novel “Mary Sate, Imbecile” launch on 20th June 2018, London","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"May 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"MSt tutor Alice Jolly's novel Mary Sate, Imbecile will be launched in London on Wednesday 20th June 2018 at Daunt Books. To attend, RSVP to mountvernonstroud@gmail.com.","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MAS-1-300x161.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MAS-1-300x161.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MAS-1-300x161.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MAS-1-300x161.png?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1691,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=1691","url_meta":{"origin":2231,"position":2},"title":"MSt tutor Alice Jolly’s “\ufeffMary Ann Sate, Imbecile” on the Walter Scott Prize Academy Recommends list","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"March 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"MSt tutor Alice Jolly's novel Mary Ann Sate, Imbecile (published by Unbound) is one of the Walter Scott Prize Academy's Recommends for 2019. From the announcement: \"Announcing the Academy list, chair of Judges Alistair Moffatt said: \u201cWe are delighted to unveil our Academy\u2019s \u2018recommended\u2019 list, offering readers a further selection\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "MSt News"","block_context":{"text":"MSt News","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1685,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=1685","url_meta":{"origin":2231,"position":3},"title":"MSt alumna Hazel Barkworth’s novel “Heatstroke” to be published by Headline Review in 2020","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"March 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"MSt alumna Hazel Barkworth's debut novel Heatstroke is to be published by Headline Review in 2020. From the Bookseller: \"Headline's sister imprint Headline Review has snapped up the \u201cheady and compulsive\u201d debut novel from Hazel Barkworth in a pre-empt deal. Commissioning editor Frankie Edwards acquired world rights from Lucy Morris\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Alumni News"","block_context":{"text":"Alumni News","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?cat=15"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2346,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=2346","url_meta":{"origin":2231,"position":4},"title":"Celebrating twenty years of the Oxford Master’s in Creative Writing","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"April 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 In celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the Oxford Creative Writing MSt, we are proud to announce the publication of Meridian. 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