"The Long and the Short of it” is an OU series of discussions online in-person as part of MK Lit Fest. 

Tobias Smollett After 300 Years offers a collection of essays on one of the great literary figures of the eighteenth century: the Scottish writer, Tobias Smollett (1721–1771). Join the contributors to the book as they take this opportunity to reflect on Smollett’s life, writing and reputation.

This lecture recital will consider Ralph Vaughan Williams’ settings of 6 sonnets by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1904). The first of these to be composed was 'Silent Noon’; singer Julia Hollander and pianist Peter McMullin will focus on this song, its relationship to the rest of the cycle and especially the theme of silence. They analyse the ways Vaughan Williams’ music depicts silence, and consider the role of Rossetti as both painter and wordsmith: calling on both our listening and our (silent) visual powers.

The Open University invites you to a new series of free online talks showcasing the ground-breaking research being carried out by PhD students in the School of Arts and Humanities as part of the Next Generation series by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.    

Are you writing but could do with some inspiration to help you along? Are you looking for writing advice to help hone your craft? Do you want to find out more about the publishing process – from securing literary representation to signing a book deal?

The workshop will include an introduction to the READ-IT reading toolkit, a technical overview, with a Q&A and an opportunity to engage with the chatbot and share reading memories. OU academics Dr Shafquat Towheed, Senior Lecturer in English, and Dr Alessio Antonini, Research Associate for STEM, are working alongside Dr Velna Rončević and Luka Ostojić from The University of Zagreb in Croatia.

Explore reading for escape as an instrumental practice, as well as reading and escape as a series of cultural or personal associations in this free online conference.

The Centre for Ibsen Studies, University of Oslo, is hosting the 2^nd international Seminar on Reception Studies and the History of Book: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 21-22 October 2022 and there will be Open University participation in the event.

Academics and practising writers engaged with climate change and creativity in different ways will talk about their research and/or creative practice, and take part in a discussion on ways to communicate climate crisis messages to wider audiences using storytelling and narrative.

How do contemporary writers concerned about climate change begin to address this subject? Can imaginative writing create new ways of relating to the natural world? What is the role of metaphor, symbol or experimental strategies in this? And can writing help develop habits of attention which lead to fresh perceptions? This panel will ask whether climate writing itself is intrinsically an act of political dissent at the present moment.