Virginia Woolf Statue Campaign

27/09/2026

27/09/2026

27/09/2026

27/09/2026

The Waves rewards close and attentive reading. Over the six weeks of this course, we will study the novel together in its entirety, moving slowly through six sections. Guided by expert close reader and Woolf scholar Dr Ellie Mitchell, we will pay close attention to the workings of the text. We will, in Woolf’s words, ‘trace the pattern, however disconnected and incoherent in appearance, which each sight or incident scores upon the consciousness’.

Working in the Cambridge tradition of close reading, we will attend to and analyse Woolf’s use of language, rhythm, imagery, repetition, analogy, and voice. How precisely does Woolf craft the reader’s experience of The Waves? What kind of attention does the novel reward?

https://www.literaturecambridge.co.uk/reading-waves

Begins 5 May 2027.

27/09/2026

Shamsia Hassani… an Afghan artist who turned her paintings into a voice for women and the realities of war.

In 2019, she created this powerful work as part of her “Curse of War” series.

Cracked buildings, a broken heart, and the symbol of peace painted on the ruined walls…

The artwork seems to say that war does not only destroy homes—it leaves deep scars within people too.

Shamsia is known for painting women without mouths, symbolizing the silence and suffering of women, while their eyes express emotions that need no words.

Shamsia Hassani’s art… stories of war, told through art.

27/09/2026

It’s the centenary of Marilyn’s birth - come celebrate with us this Thursday.

A special performance by Isabella Bliss and a Talk about new book 'Encounters with Marilyn Monroe'.

27/09/2026

Happy Birthday, T. S. Eliot!

Today we celebrate T. S. Eliot (1888–1965), one of the most influential poets of the modernist era.

His poetry explored time, memory, faith, loneliness, identity, and the complexities of modern life. From The Waste Land to Four Quartets, his words continue to invite readers to pause, reflect, and look at the world differently.

“We shall not cease from exploration,
and the end of all our exploring
will be to arrive where we started
and know the place for the first time.”
— T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets

What is your favorite T. S. Eliot work?

The Waste Land, Four Quartets, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, or something else?

27/09/2026

What is the best opening line that you've read ?

Opening that feels almost deceptively simple but somehow sets the entire mood of the story in just a few words

Book: The Stranger by Albert Camus !!

27/09/2026

In March 1969, artist Leonora Carrington painted a mysterious work with an unusual title:
Operation Wednesday.

A surreal world filled with strange symbols and forms, as if we’ve stepped into a dream without knowing how it began… or where it will take us.

Leonora Carrington (1917–2011), the British-Mexican artist and writer, was one of the prominent figures of Surrealism. She became known for her imaginative worlds inspired by mythology and magic.

Remarkably, the painting was sold at Bonhams in 2021 for £682,750.

Did you know this painting before?