BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:talks.ox.ac.uk BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Public Lecture: 'On Life-Writing (Part I): Elleke Boehmer and Kate Kennedy in Conversation' - Elleke Boehmer (Professor of World Literature in English\, University of Oxford)\, Dr Kate Kennedy (University of Oxford ) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250912T173000 DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250912T190000 UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/ab8cf241-d91e-4ec9-b82f-183191b6b738/ DESCRIPTION:For many readers\, life-writing—especially memoir—is taken to offer a representation of a life that is more or less believed to be t rue\, or as true as memory work can make it. Yet recent\, high-profile con troversies have called many of those truth claims into question.\n\nIn thi s session\, leading life-writers\, Elleke Boehmer and Kate Kennedy\, draw on their research and experiences as writers to explore the boundaries bet ween memory and invention\, truth and storytelling\, in contemporary life writing. Focusing on texts including Raynor Winn’s The Salt Path\, Ellek e Boehmer’s The Shouting in the Dark\, and Helen Zenna Smith’s Not So Quiet: Stepdaughters of War\, they ask:\n\nHow much invention can legitima tely go into life writing?\n\nHow much of memoir is made up\, and—when i n doubt—why not resort to autofiction?\n\nThis event is the first in a t wo-part series that introduces some of the major questions animating conte mporary life‑writing. Be sure to join us for Part II\, when Kate Ken nedy sits down with Hermione Lee to discuss biography and their differ ent approaches to telling life stories.\n\nSpeaker Details:\n\nElleke Boeh mer is Professor of World Literature in English and Executive Director of the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing. She is a Fellow of the English Academy \, of the Royal Society of Literature\, and of the Royal Historical Societ y. She is a member of the Dutch Society of Letters and a Rhodes Trustee. I n 2024\, she held an International Visiting Fellowship award at the Univer sity of Adelaide\, Australia. Elleke has published biography\, history and criticism\, including Postcolonial Poetics (2018)\; Indian Arrivals 1870- 1915 (2015\; winner of the biennial ESSE prize 2016) and Nelson Mandela (2 008\, 2023). Southern Imagining\, a literary history of the southern hemis phere\, her seventh monograph\, will appear from Princeton University Pres s\, later in 2025. Elleke Boehmer’s fiction includes To the Volcano\, an d other stories (2019\; commended Elizabeth Jolley Prize)\,and The Shoutin g in the Dark (winner of the Olive Schreiner Prize 2018). Her novel Ice Sh ock is forthcoming.\n\nKate Kennedy is a writer\, cellist\, and BBC broadc aster. Her work combines words and music\, in performance\, on the radio\, and on the page. She is a Research Fellow in Life-Writing at Wolfson Coll ege\, Oxford\, and Director of the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing. Her mos t recent book\, Cello: A Journey Through Silence to Sound (2024) is part m emoir\, part biography\, and her previous biography Dweller in Shadows (20 21) explored the life of British poet-composer Ivor Gurney. She is a regul ar presenter for BBC Radio.\n\nFurther Details and Contacts:\n\nAfter the event\, join us for a complimentary wine reception.\n\nThis event is free and open to all\; however\, registration is recommended.\n\nThis is an in- person event\, but it will be recorded and made available on the OCLW webs ite soon after. Registration is not required to access the recording.\n\nR egistration will close at 14:30 on 13 October 2025.\n\nAny queries regardi ng this event should be addressed to OCLW Events Manager\, Dr Eleri Anona Watson.\nSpeakers:\nElleke Boehmer (Professor of World Literature in Engli sh\, University of Oxford)\, Dr Kate Kennedy (University of Oxford) LOCATION:Leonard Wolfson Auditorium (The Leonard Wolfson Auditorium. Acces sibility information: https://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/venue/large-conference- and-dining-spaces/) TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/ab8cf241-d91e-4ec9-b82f-183191b6b738/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Public Lecture: 'On Life-Writing (Part I): Elleke Boehmer and Kate Kennedy in Conversation' - Elleke Boehmer (Professor of World Li terature in English\, University of Oxford)\, Dr Kate Kennedy (University of Oxford) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR