26 January 09 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EVENT ALERT (12
FEBRUARY): AMIS AND JACOBSON DEBATE IDEAS OF BRITISHNESS
Renowned author Martin Amis will discuss changing
ideas and representations of Britishness with Manchester-born
writer Howard Jacobson, at his next University of Manchester debate
on 12 February (2009).
‘Literature and Britishness’ will offer a unique chance to listen
to two of the leading writers of their generation, as they consider how concepts of Britishness
have altered over the past half-century.
Amis and Jewish novelist
Jacobson are also expected to discuss how the novel represents or misrepresents
the British nation, and its transformation into a multicultural society since the
end of the second world war.
Many of the country's best writers
have represented this transition in their work, with Amis’s own novels, such as
Yellow Dog (2003), often addressing and satirizing the changing nature
of British life.
His journalism has consistently
looked at how the British state has responded to a changing world, a concern particularly
apparent in his account of his travels to
Howard Jacobson was born in Prestwich in
Often writing in a humorous style, the Jewish experience in
Bradley Professor of English Literature Murray Pittock, of the
A prominent expert on national identity within the
Organisers at the Centre for New Writing expect a lively and
stimulating evening which will conclude with a Q and A session, allowing
members of the public and students to put questions to the panel.
Amis has been Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre since
September 2007, and takes part in four public debates on issues in contemporary
literature each year.
These complement the Centre’s regular 'Literature Live' readings,
which showcase the best established and emerging novelists and poets.
- ENDS -
NOTES FOR EDITORS
‘Martin Amis Public Event: Literature and Britishness’ will take
place at 6.30pm on Thursday
12 February in the Whitworth Hall,
Tickets cost £5 (£3 concessions) and are available from Quay
Tickets on www.quaytickets.com or 0870 428 0785.
SPECIAL OFFER: A season
ticket covering six
chargeable events at the Centre for New
Writing between February and July can be booked for £21.50 (£13.00
concessions), 25% less than buying individual tickets. Please call Quay Tickets to book.
Images are available upon request.
For more details please contact:
Jo Nightingale
Centre for New Writing
0161 ....
For further information on other events this season, please
visit www.manchester.ac.uk/arts/newwriting/events.
ABOUT THE CENTRE FOR NEW WRITING
The Centre for New Writing at The University of Manchester is
home to a range of programmes in creative writing and contemporary literature,
from undergraduate to PhD level.
It hosts the major public reading series Literature Live, Martin
Amis Public Events and a new online journal The Manchester Review
(www.themanchesterreview.co.uk).
Its distinguished teaching staff includes novelists Martin Amis,
M.J. Hyland, Geoff Ryman and Ian McGuire, and poets John McAuliffe and Vona
Groarke.
www.manchester.ac.uk/arts/newwriting/