Aneline Wood
The other day, I had the privilege of speaking to Zoe Lidbury and Elodie Edwards, who are both part of the web team for a university-based publication called The Letters Page. It is a literary journal set up and primarily run by Jon McGregor and Naomi Adam, published by the School of English at the University of Nottingham.
They especially recommend this placement for anyone interested in journalism
The Letters Page provides placement opportunities for students in the School of English. Both Zoe and Elodie made successful applications for this opportunity last summer. And they couldn’t recommend the experience more highly, not least for the connections and relationships it has helped them to form.
Zoe is a third-year student and described the placement as her favourite thing in her whole degree. Both agreed that the experience they have gained has been invaluable. They are delighted to be able to say that they have written for a published journal and spoke with pride about how their articles come out alongside experts and published authors like Jon. Both said they were pleasantly surprised by the amount of writing the opportunity involved.
They really enjoyed the professionalism of the experience and the way in which they were trusted with responsibility and treated like colleagues. They especially recommend this placement for anyone interested in journalism, as it is a good taste of what real-world publishing can look like.
The letters include contributions from cities around the globe, from Barcelona and Baghdad to Lviv and Ljubljana
Recently, volume 5 came out, the latest edition of The Letters Page. It is a collection of translated letters written by authors based in UNESCO Cities of Literature, some of whom are, like Nottingham, celebrating ten years of their City of Literature status. Elodie and Zoe spoke of Nottingham’s momentous anniversary as the inspiration behind the publication and the resulting collaboration with the City of Literature.
They also mentioned Olivia Hellewell, who is an Assistant Professor of Spanish and Translation Studies at the university, and assisted with the publication through crucial translations,which helped make the letters accessible to a wider audience.
The letters include contributions from cities around the globe, from Barcelona and Baghdad to Lviv and Ljubljana. Zoe and Elodie both agreed that their favourite letter was one from Lviv in Ukraine. They collaborated on the article, ‘Can Books Bridge Nations?’ which discusses the letter written by Oksana Danchuk, a Ukrainian playwright based at Lesia’s Theatre in Lviv.
This letter brings crucial attention to a country still very much ravaged by conflict
In her letter, she mentions her friend Oleksiy, who is currently serving in the military and, unfortunately, has yet to be granted his first leave. This provides a stark reminder that for some Ukrainian residents, war is very much still the defining feature of their lives and virtually prohibits involvement in all else.
This letter draws crucial attention to a country still very much ravaged by conflict, though perhaps less in the headlines at the moment than it arguably deserves, as there are so many other international crises garnering current media attention.
Perhaps this provides an opportunity for us to pay attention to the ever-shortening attention spans of media and its consumers, and how sensationalist headlines create dramatic moments, but perhaps don’t lend their support to long-lasting movements for change.
The letter is written by Alexandre de Sousa who believes that his home has a ‘legacy of literature’
Each letter in volume 5 has an accompanying article written by a member of the web and production teams and edited by Naomi Adam, Editor of The Letters Page. These explore some of the evocative topics discussed in the letters. The thought-provoking reflections offer a preview of what is in store for those who choose to read the full letters, sensitively translated into English from a multitude of different languages from across the globe.
Another letter that Zoe mentioned is one from the city of Óbidos in Portugal. It is a historic, walled town with 3,100 people and over half a million books. Zoe said she liked this article for its perhaps slightly more uplifting tone and the fact that the appreciation of literature in this culture seems almost far-fetched in the climate of our modern society. The letter is written by Alexandre de Sousa, who believes that his home has a ‘legacy of literature’. The accompanying article, written by Imogen Sykes, discusses how ‘Alexandre pictures Óbidos as a world of literature that readers and writers alike both inherit and impart…a community and culture eclipsed by words.’
Both Zoe and Elodie spoke about the real community feel of the publication and the gratitude that all involved feel over how generous people are with their time and their words. They receive so many applications from people keen to contribute and share in their celebration of the time-honoured tradition of letter writing.
one can see the crucial importance of an appreciation for literature in a modern world that is so heavily dominated by technology
They hope others will want to share in their appreciation and read and enjoy these beautiful letters exploring a wide range of important topics. There are hard-hitting letters written by those in countries ravaged by conflict and thoughtful meditations on the nature of letter writing. Through these, one can see the crucial importance of an appreciation for literature in a modern world that is so heavily dominated by technology and the intangible, rather than a focus on grounding oneself in the here and now and appreciating the world around you.
If you would like to read volume 5, you can purchase a copy at the link here https://store.nottingham.ac.uk/product-catalogue/schools-and-departments/english/the-letters-page-vol-5
If you would like to make a submission and share your own work and love of letter writing, you can find out more here https://theletters.page/submit/
Aneline Wood
Featured image courtesy of sue hughes via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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