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The literature of the Victorian era has an enduring popular interest, as evidenced by the plethora of film and television adaptations of novels and authors' biographies. Though this popularization has brought Victorian literature to the foreground, there is a need for the public to be better informed about this literature. Members of the English UOA are engaged in research into Victorian literature and have drawn on this research to help members of the public gain better understanding and deeper appreciation of this literature. They have achieved this through public lectures, seminars, and poetry readings, as well as at events organized through links fostered with local galleries.
Members of the University of Exeter's Programme for Creative Writing and Arts have translated their research-as-practice into regional, national, and international impact by introducing innovative forms of contemporary writing to a range of audiences through publications, several of which have had notable public acclaim; an events programme; and training workshops. Funded projects to develop new writing have strengthened relationships between academic and creative sectors and inspired new and successful writing careers. The main impacts of this research-as-practice have been to:
Paul Farley's book Edgelands, co-authored with Michael Symmons Roberts, has changed attitudes to landscape in both cultural and utilitarian senses. Winner of the `Foyles Best Book of Ideas' Prize for 2012, Edgelands was extensively reviewed upon publication and its capacity for changing perceptions was widely remarked upon. Beyond its print and digital dissemination, it became a broadcast topic, both as an adaptation for BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week and also as a news feature on programmes such as BBC Radio 4's The Today Programme. As well as becoming a set text on many academic reading lists, Edgelands has influenced curatorial practice in the visual arts, opinion and policymaking bodies, practical approaches to engagement with landscape and also promoted widespread debate and active awareness at the grass roots level of weblogs and online journals. The book is part of a much wider body of research and writing on cognate subjects by Farley that includes award-winning collections of poetry and high-profile radio broadcasts. However, Edgelands is focused upon here as a concrete example of how a single publication can have a significant and wide-ranging impact.
The impact of Professor Nigel McLoughlin's work has two main, interrelated facets. The first is the public dissemination of his poetry through a variety of media, including mass media. His work takes the Irish troubles as a main context, and addresses themes of violence, invasion, identity, belonging, and tradition. He has published widely and has been invited to perform his work to public audiences at numerous literary festivals. The second is his academic research into pedagogy and poetics. Here his academic work examines the creative process and principles of making poems and his research reflects how one can explore and teach the various textual, musical, rhythmic, formal and thematic considerations of poetry. His own poetry bears out this reflective relation to expressivity through its perpetual experiments with formal and musical considerations, imagery and the relationship of the poetic whole to multi-sensory images and embodied thought.
Mick Gowar's critical and creative practice has impact on culture and education within the community. His work has had, and continues to have, a significant impact on children's reading and writing, in particular introducing children to the heritage of British folklore through initiatives such as the World Wide Story Web which both preserves and presents cultural heritage. A key impact of his research is the way it has enabled adults and children, including children with special needs, to express themselves through writing and music making, thus having a positive impact on wellbeing, educational achievement and personal development.
The Military Writing Network (MWN) was founded in 2009 by Siobhan Campbell, Principal Lecturer in the Department of English Literature and Creative Writing, Kingston University London. Drawing on research by Professor Rachel Cusk, Dr. Meg Jensen and Professor Vesna Goldsworthy into the interface between testimony, trauma literature, autobiographical fiction and recovery from trauma and related disorders, the MWN created and sustains partnerships with organisations working with veteran soldiers, sailors and airmen and their families toward investigating how creative writing practice can help them cope with issues relating to combat stress, both inside and outside mental health environments.
St Andrews has, for several decades, been a centre of critical and editing work on medieval poetry, which has enabled unusually broad cultural dissemination, facilitating for example, Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf. Working within this tradition, Chris Jones' research on the uses of Old English in contemporary poetry, in conjunction with colleague Jacob Polley's practice-led research in the form of medieval-inspired poetry has (1) raised public awareness of an historically remote and linguistically difficult area of English literary heritage often thought to be obscure or inaccessible; (2) inspired new forms of interdisciplinary artistic expression; (3) contributed to economic prosperity in the creative sector. The users of the research outlined in this case study include: a publishing company; a museum visitor centre; a visual artist and other craftspeople and designers; an independent literary festival; the reading, listening and museum-going public.
This case study describes the impact of two poetry collections authored by Dr Abi Curtis, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing and English Literature. The research explored and disseminated in two journal articles is intrinsically linked to the two poetry collections, which are practice-based explorations of an ongoing body of research. The research conducted in the two academic articles has had a direct impact on the practice-based work — the two poetry collections. These, in turn, have had impacts on the reading public, other artists, and students in different disciplines.
The Department has worked proactively to bring creative writing out from the institutional sphere and into the public domain. While creative writing is often perceived as a niche activity largely confined to university writing programmes, Warwick's writers have broken new ground with their approach that writing can take all forms, that creativity is open to everyone, and that writing has the power to intervene meaningfully in the world. This commitment is demonstrated through a range of activities that include active involvement in campaigns for the freedom of expression, the foundation of distinctive literary prizes, widespread communication of interactive material through social media, and the establishment of new publishing houses and literary magazines.
For Joe Stretch creative writing, widely conceived, is both the key research output and the practice that generates impact. Through award-winning writing in a range of media, he seeks critically to interrogate new modes of identity and empowerment that new forms of media production and communication technology claim to offer by engaging a range of reading, listening and viewing audiences. Wide-ranging and innovative dissemination has led to local, national and international impacts on the imaginations and sensibilities of those audiences, especially among a younger demographic. Impacts within the creative and cultural sectors have been achieved through influence on the practices of other creative professionals.