If you're in the Midlands, book yourself a free ticket to hear Blake Morrison speak about his life and work:

Loughborough University's Sir Robert Martin Theatre welcomes one of Britain's most highly regarded writers on Wednesday 3rd November when audiences are invited to spend 'An Evening with Blake Morrison'.

Morrison is without doubt one of the most versatile and talented writers working in England today. Poet, critic, journalist, writer of short fiction and non-fiction of all kinds and most recently novelist, there are few genres he has not tackled.

He was born in Skipton, Yorkshire, in 1950 and educated at the University of Nottingham and University College, London. He worked for the Times Literary Supplement and became literary editor for both The Observer and The Independent on Sunday. He is Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, council member of the Poetry Society and Vice-Chairman of English PEN.

Morrison broke into the notice of the wider (non-poetry-reading) public in 1993, with the publication of 'And When Did You Last See Your Father?', a personal account of the death from cancer of his father, the doctor Arthur Morrison. 'And When Did You Last See Your Father?' is poignant and honest, and infused with Morrison's own personality, his straightforwardness and warmth.

Equally personal and human is As If (1997), Morrison's response to the trial of the two ten-year-old boys convicted of murdering the toddler James Bulger. This work had begun as a short piece of journalism, commissioned for an American magazine, but grew into this great, thoughtful study of the case, of Morrison's reactions to it, of parenthood, and childhood, of innocence (and of course of guilt) and the nature of good and evil, no less.

Now this accomplished man of letters comes to Loughborough talks about his life, his work and the place of literature in our world today.

"I have always been haunted by Auden's line "poetry makes nothing happen" said Morrison.

"Writers can't hope to change the world but they can (in some small way) influence patterns of thought and structures of feeling. The book I wrote on the James Bulger case set out to change people's minds not just about two boys who'd been demonised by the media but about the way children in
general are thought about and treated in contemporary society. Even the memoir of my father had a polemical aspiration - to demystify death and give voice to emotions which many of us (especially men) prefer to repress".

"I'm fascinated by the connections between art and healing. And without an ambition - the wish to make something happen, or make someone (if only myself) feel better - I doubt I'd feel the urge to write at all."

"An Evening with Blake Morrison" can be seen at The Sir Robert Martin Theatre, Loughborough University on Wednesday 3rd November. The show begins at 7.30pm.

Tickets are free. To book a place or for more information just ring 01509-222899 or e-mail to V.Green@lboro.ac.uk

I was born in Loughborough. It's a ten minute train ride from Leicester. How typical that I've just moved to the south coast. And I still haven't seen Oscar Wilde anywhere.

JB

Ah, shame, cos I've seen lots of good arts things happening in Loughborough recently- well, heard/read about them anyway. but isn't it always the same when you move away from somewhere?