Confessions of an escapism artist – handling escapism while social distancing
June 25, 2020
At times like these, the urge to escape from the world is greater than ever. This may be through TV, books, games, music… anything that might help someone mentally escape from the reality. And with modern technology, it is all too easy to achieve. You may not even recognise that you are doing it. It’s …
Beyond the Books: What Has University Taught Me?
June 11, 2020
Besides (hopefully) gaining an English degree, going to University has taught me so much. From theatre practitioners, the Irish Literary Revival and the works of Alexander Pope, to key poetic techniques and the acquisition of children’s language, my degree’s breadth has equipped me with vital analytical and critical skills. Yet my University education certainly went …
Mental Health Awareness in the English Department
June 8, 2020
Becky Cameron is known for sending out emails. In fact, any English student’s emails are most definitely 60% Becky Cameron, which I say with the utmost fondness – especially after the day she organised on the 12th of March 2020. I always find myself a little sceptical of Mental Health Awareness week. It sometimes feels …
Taking Refuge in Literature
June 4, 2020
As we turned inward during lockdown, we may have felt more compelled than ever to turn to books to find refuge during these trying times. We turn to devour endless pages with imaginary places of fantasy to a world buzzing with life. A reality of social life which, to us, felt fictional and so far …
The Myth of Individualism
June 1, 2020
In the Dutch historian Rutger Bregman’s latest book Humankind, he researches a real-life version of Lord of the Flies. In June 1965, six boys from Tonga floated out to sea in a stolen boat, and found themselves washed up on a desert island for fifteen months. Unlike William Golding’s novel, however, which ends in brutality …
Catharsis, Comfort and the Contemporary Poetry of Rupi Kaur
May 28, 2020
Reception of Rupi Kaur’s pared-down poetry divides her readership into those who celebrate her popularisation of poetry (Kaur sold more copies of her debut collection in 2016 than the other top ten poets combined) and those who decry her work as somehow lazy in its brevity, and lacking the vocabulary and sophistication of traditional poetry. …
How to Keep Going in Difficult Times
April 3, 2020
The past few weeks have been an adjustment to say the least. Thanks to Covid-19, the world has moved indoors, and university has gone online. It’s frustrating; it feels like a lot has been taken away from us. As students, we were told that these would be the best years of our lives, where we’d …
Career Curiosity
March 23, 2020
We are always changing. Always discovering new paths and deciding whether to pursue them. We’re on a train journey of deciding whether to get off at that station and explore the landscape or stay on the train to see what lies ahead. Most importantly, we are all different. We are all getting off at different …
The Friendly Introvert
March 11, 2020
On a large campus, it is very easy to get swallowed up by the crowd. However, part of the university experience is getting out there and meeting new people. Not only is making connections important in making the campus feel more like a home, it is also an important skill to develop for your budding …
Music and English – An Unlikely Connection
March 9, 2020
Since starting university I have become greatly accustomed to walking around campus in particular the treacherous trek up the downs. My trusted companion of choice tends to be my headphones; not only do they keep my ears warm they also decrease the chances of awkward interactions with strangers (always a win). Regardless of these factors …
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