Nottingham Hosts Renowned Authors for UNESCO City of Literature Lectures
Two internationally acclaimed authors, Tahmima Anam and Chris McCormick, will each deliver a free public lecture next month as part of the City of Literature lectures.
The annual Nottingham City of Literature lectures, delivered in partnership with the University of Nottingham, aim to attract world-leading authors to the city. The event provides a platform for leading writers and thinkers to share their ideas and promote Nottingham’s wide-ranging expertise on international literature, literacy, and the wider creative economy.
Both the university and the city are delighted to welcome the authors for the 2024 lectures, which will take place on 2 and 3 May 2024 at Nottingham Central Library.
Tahmima Anam’s UNESCO City of Literature lecture is titled Standing on my Grandfather’s Back: Migration, Identity and how we Inherit our Stories, and will be held on Thursday 2 May from 6.30-8.30pm.
Tahmima’s grandfather Abul Mansur Ahmed was born in a village in colonial India and went on to become a political satirist and short story writer. In this lecture she will explore themes of identity and storytelling through the lens of inheritance, both familial and national.
I’m deeply honoured to be taking part in this year’s UNESCO City of Literature Lectures. My father worked for UNESCO for 14 years, and his job was why I had a peripatetic childhood – and that is probably why I became a writer. As someone who both loves, and slightly fears, the short story, I’m particularly excited to talk about the form in the context of personal and familial migrations in my family’s history.”
Tahmina Anam, Author
The second City of Literature lecture Counterpoints: Desire and Nostalgia in the Art of the Short Story, delivered by US novelist Chris McCormick, will discuss ‘desire’ and ‘nostalgia’ as two forces at colliding ends of a central pressurising machine, intent on revealing the innermost soul of a character.
Although this fascinating talk will include literary examples ranging from Anton Chekhov to Kazuo Ishiguro to Lesley Nneka Arimah, Chris is particularly interested in discussing these forces within the cultural contexts of immigrant and diasporic writers like Bharati Mukherjee and Bernard Malamud. Because Mukherjee was a teacher of Chris, and because Malamud was a teacher of hers, the lecture will also consider mentorship in the short story as art form.
Lastly, the author will discuss the application of these theories to his own short stories, where thematic and aesthetic questions have been shaped by his Armenian heritage, within his lecture on Friday 3 May which begins at 3.30pm.
As an unabashed fanatic of the short story form, and as a believer in its unique power to reveal us to ourselves in glancing yet lasting blows, I’m honoured and energised by the invitation to Nottingham. I’m looking forward to discussing ideas on craft and heritage with fellow story lovers, and my gratitude to the distinguished writers and scholars whose dedicated efforts have made these events possible is matched only by my genuine excitement to take part.”
Chris McCormick, Author
Nottingham became a UNESCO City of Literature in 2015 on account of the city’s globally renowned literary heritage and vibrant contemporary writing scene. The permanent designation as a UNESCO Creative City enables the power of words to transform lives, create new opportunities and establish Nottingham as a leading destination for lovers of literature worldwide.
We’re delighted to have Tahmima and Chris deliver this year’s City of Literature lectures showcasing international writing in Nottingham. We look forward to hearing these fantastic authors share their ideas on storytelling, migration and identity. I’m pleased that we are once again partnering with the University of Nottingham on these important events in our calendar.”
Hannah Trevarthen, Director at Nottingham City of Literature
Both UNESCO City of Literature lectures form part of the two-day wider programme of events called The Art of Short Form Narrative: Creative Writing and Ethnic Identity led by Dr Ruth Maxey, Associate Professor of Modern American Literature in the University of Nottingham’s School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies.
We are thrilled to welcome two such internationally acclaimed writers to Nottingham to share their brilliant insights into the craft of fiction, especially the short story, and how literature can illuminate our understanding of ethnic identity and migration, subjects which are only becoming more relevant and topical in today’s globalised world.”
Dr Ruth Maxey, Associate Professor of Modern American Literature in the School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies
These wider events include a writing workshop with Chris McCormick, along with University of Nottingham academics and poets Dr Matthew Welton of the School of English and Dr Hongwei Bao of the Department of Cultural, Media and Visual Studies, with the novelist Anthony Cropper of Nottingham Trent University. The workshop will be open to students from both Nottingham universities.