BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:talks.ox.ac.uk
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Public Lecture: Professor Nicholas Royle\, 'Life-Writing and the N
 ew Fantastic: Possibilities and Pleasures for Life-Writers and Readers' - 
 Nicholas Royle (University of Sussex)
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260210T173000Z
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260210T190000Z
UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/b984f932-d491-47a9-80d1-15c457261005/
DESCRIPTION:What possibilities and pleasures might fantasy\, the weird\, t
 he uncanny\, and the queer offer life-writers and readers?\n\nFor many\, l
 ife-writing aims to authentically narrate the ‘real’\, factual experie
 nces of a life. Yet\, as Professor Nicholas Royle (University of Sussex) c
 ontends\, expressions of ‘the weird’ and ‘the uncanny’—often ass
 ociated with fantasy and supernatural literature—increasingly seep into 
 contemporary life-writing. After all\, lived experience is not always stra
 ightforward or easily narrated: memory can blur and distort\, coincidence 
 can feel charged with meaning\, and the everyday can suddenly seem strange
  or out of place.\n\nRoyle calls this contemporary drift of strangeness in
 to the ‘real’ the ‘New Fantastic’: a way of writing that narrates 
 ordinary life while registering its weirdness—its slips\, shocks\, and u
 ncanny moments. In turn\, this lecture asks:\n\nWhat can these engagements
  with the weird and the uncanny tell us about life-writing today?\n\n‘Th
 e uncanny’ names an unnerving moment when the familiar suddenly feels st
 range\, while ‘the weird’ points to that which exceeds the usual rules
  of reality. They make the world feel odd\, askew\, out of joint—or\, in
 deed\, ‘queer’. Drawing upon the French philosopher Jacques Derrida’
 s provocation that ‘to be is to be queer’\, Royle asks\,\n\nWhat happe
 ns when life-writing refuses neat\, ‘straight’ stories of the self\, a
 nd instead stays with what feels unstable\, difficult\, or hard to explain
 ?\n\nWhat's queer about contemporary life-writing?\n\nThis talk will draw 
 on classic supernatural fiction by the American writer H.P. Lovecraft and 
 the English writer Algernon Blackwood\, alongside experimental\, reflectiv
 e writing by the French writer and theorist Hélène Cixous and the Britis
 h writer Lara Pawson. In so doing\, Royle considers how the ‘New Fantast
 ic’ can open up new challenges and pleasures for life-writers and their 
 readers.\n\nTouching on life-writing\, creative and critical writing\, and
  literary theory\, this lecture will appeal to writers\, students\, and sc
 holars of literature\, as well as anyone interested in memoir and contempo
 rary experimental writing. It will also be of interest to those curious ab
 out queer approaches to culture\, psychoanalysis\, and the weird and uncan
 ny in fiction and everyday life. No prior specialist knowledge or preparat
 ion is required. However\, attendees may find it helpful to read Algernon 
 Blackwood’s ‘The Man Whom the Trees Loved’ (1912).  \n\nSpeaker Deta
 ils:\n\nNicholas Royle is Emeritus Professor of English at the University 
 of Sussex. He is the author of many critical works\, including Telepathy a
 nd Literature (1991)\, E.M. Forster (1999)\, The Uncanny (2003)\, Jacques 
 Derrida (2003)\, Veering: A Theory of Literature (2011)\, Hélène Cixous:
  Dreamer\, Realist\, Analyst\, Writing (2020)\, as well as (with Andrew Be
 nnett) Elizabeth Bowen and the Dissolution of the Novel (1995) and the Int
 roduction to Literature\, Criticism and Theory (sixth edition\, 2023). He 
 has also published the novels Quilt (2010) and An English Guide to Birdwat
 ching (2017)\, along with Mother: A Memoir (2020) and David Bowie\, Enid B
 lyton and the Sun Machine (2023). He is currently working on two projects:
  a book about Virginia Woolf and Palestine\, and a study of The Weird\, th
 e Uncanny and the New Fantastic.\n\nFurther Details and Contacts:\n\nAfter
  the event\, please join us for a complimentary wine reception.\n\nThis hy
 brid event is free and open to all. Delivering our lectures costs the Cent
 re around £20 per attendee. If you are able\, please consider making a vo
 luntary donation of £5\, £10\, £20\, or £50 to help us cover these cos
 ts and keep our events accessible to all. No one will be turned away for l
 ack of funds.\n\nRegistration is strongly recommended for in-person attend
 ance and required for hybrid attendance. Registration will close at 14:30 
 on 10/02/2026. \n\nThe event will be recorded and made available on the OC
 LW website soon after. Registration is not required to access the recordin
 g.‍  ‍\n\nQueries regarding this event should be addressed to OCLW Eve
 nts Manager\, Dr Eleri Anona Watson.\nSpeakers:\nNicholas Royle (Universit
 y of Sussex)
LOCATION:Wolfson College (The Buttery and via Zoom\; accessibility informa
 tion available here: https://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/accessibility-wolfson-co
 llege )\, Linton Road OX2 6UD
TZID:Europe/London
URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/b984f932-d491-47a9-80d1-15c457261005/
BEGIN:VALARM
ACTION:display
DESCRIPTION:Talk:Public Lecture: Professor Nicholas Royle\, 'Life-Writing 
 and the New Fantastic: Possibilities and Pleasures for Life-Writers and Re
 aders' - Nicholas Royle (University of Sussex)
TRIGGER:-PT1H
END:VALARM
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR