Next week will see the very first literary salon in the East Midlands being launched at Loughborough University.
The general idea behind a literary salon is to bring together a group of people with the same interests for group discussion and the broadening of knowledge. The salons were first created in the 16th century and were a popular tradition across Europe until the early 19th century.
Next week’s event is a collaboration between Loughborough’s Department of Information Science and the Department of English and Drama, and it is being organised alongside the Institute for the Future of the Book and Writing East Midlands. The event has the intention of reviving the occurrence of the literary salon in the East Midlands area.
The salon is aimed at a variety of people varying from writers and authors to literary enthusiasts in general. The evening will be offering the chance for literary conversation, debate and performance; enabling the participants to learn in a laid back atmosphere.
The issues that surround writing and publishing in today’s digitally focused environment is the general focus of discussion for this particular literary salon. Guest participants include a variety of authors and publishers, a poetic performance by Dan Simpson and an installation by Mark Goodwin.
The two lecturers behind this event, Dr Melanie Ramdarshan Bold and Dr Kerry Featherstone, hope that this literary salon will be the first of many more to come.
Dr Ramdarshan Bold has stated that: “In today’s increasingly digital market place it is vital that authors and publishers understand technology and embrace it where they can, particularly for promotion of their work. At our salon we will explore and discuss all the issues and latest developments in a relaxed social environment.”
The literary salon will take place on Friday November 16th at 6pm in Martin Hall on the University campus. Tickets cost £10 or £5 for concessions and must be booked in advance through Helen Relf who can be contacted via h.l.relf@lboro.ac.uk .
