Joe Brooker at the Edinburgh International Book Festival
Joe Brooker, Reader in Modern Literature, travelled to the Edinburgh International Book Festival to take part in a panel on contemporary literature.
Joe Brooker, Reader in Modern Literature, travelled to the Edinburgh International Book Festival to take part in a panel on contemporary literature.
Joe discussed his recent book Literature of the 1980s: After the Watershed (2010), while co-panellist Dr Ray Ryan talked about themes arising from The Good of the Novel, a collection of essays that he has recently co-edited.
Joe reports: "It was a privilege to be given the chance to participate in Edinburgh's Book Festival. It's an event that runs for over a fortnight, alongside Edinburgh's other festivals, and features countless interesting panels and speakers. Some of them - like Alasdair Gray, Paul Muldoon and Alan Hollinghurst - have been around long enough to feature in my own book."
Discussions with panel chair Stuart Kelly of Scotland on Sunday included the literary legacies of the 1980s, the role of the critic today, the relations between literature and history, and the possible impact of new technology on ways of reading. Joe concludes: "From my point of view it was a good opportunity to contribute to an event which is intellectual, but not academic. The audience for our panel included people from universities alongside educated and interested general readers."
Joe teaches on the MA Modern and Contemporary Literature, MA Contemporary Literature and Culture and BA English programmes.