Rivers of Love

One man, three women, and trout. Jez Butterworth’s play The River sounds prosaic, but it flows poetically through themes of love and loneliness. As Durham-based theatre company Elysium prepare to bring The River to the North East for the first time, we asked director, Jake Murray, why we should try to catch a performance. The...

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Conversations Across Continents with the Durham-Jordan Creative Exchange

The small, medieval city of Durham, UK and the bustling metropolis of Amman, Jordan, might seem worlds apart. But for writers Linda France and Mofleh al-Adwan, who are swapping places as part of a unique creative exchange programme called Alta'ir (bird), each provides a rich source of literary inspiration. We found out more with Linda...

Why Judge Holden is One of Literature’s Greatest Villains

In the long list of literary villains, Judge Holden, from Cormac McCarthy's 1985 novel Blood Meridian, is among the most memorable. In this post derived from his article in our Postgraduate English journal, Ronan Hatfull explains how Judge Holden embodies the best (or worst) of antiheroes from literary and cinematic tradition. At the start of your...

My Accent Changes with the Landscape: An Interview with Third Culture Kid Author, Abeer Hoque

For children who begin life in one culture before relocating to another, being a Third Culture Kid presents unique challenges of identity and belonging. Jessica Sanfilippo-Schulz, who wrote on Third Culture Literature in a recent article in our Postgraduate English journal, interviews the author Abeer Hoque, a Bangladeshi American who was born in Nigeria. At...

From Dalhousie to Durham: Kathleen Cawsey on a Medieval City, Medieval Literature, and…Misogynistic Dentists

Professor Kathleen Cawsey from Dalhouise University in Canada is a visiting scholar here in Durham, hosted by the Department of English Studies and St Cuthbert's Society. She chatted with READ about the research she is doing while she is here, the links between medieval literature and modern fantasy, and how the Wife of Bath's Tale connects...