Literature – The Orbital

13Feb

By Lena ZellerNo Comments

Culture, Culture & Literature, Literature

An Interview with Nicola Dinan

By Lena Zeller I had the pleasure of interviewing Nicola Dinan, a Creative Writing tutor at Royal Holloway, whose novel Bellies moved me deeply. Q: Would you introduce yourself to our readers? A: I’m a full-time novelist - my debut, Bellies, came out in 2023, and my sophomore novel, Disappoint Me, is out in January 2025. I’m currently a visiting tutor for the MA Creative Writing. Although I spend much of my working day thinking about books this is my first foray into an academic environment for writing, which might surprise people! I studied Natural Sciences at university and then trained as a lawyer before writing Bellies. Q: What has it been like to translate your experience as a writer into teaching? Did you learn anything about yourself as a writer...

5Feb

By Isobel CarnochanNo Comments

Culture, Literature

Babitz, Brats, and Bacchanalia

This winter marked three years since the death of Eve Babitz, and for me, consisted of my nose being buried in Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, the Flesh, and L.A. Whilst the cold winter air and dreary green monotony of the English countryside lay just beyond the window of my childhood bedroom, my mind and my soul were preoccupied with the blistering heat of 1970s L.A. Eve Babitz, the ultimate ‘It Girl’ of 70s L.A. and inspiration to L.A. Woman by the doors, did not receive much attention for her literary work within the active years of her career. Yet, the past fifteen years have seen a resurgence in the popularity of her work; this may be due to the persistence of journalist Lili Anolik. After a freak accident in 1997 left third degree burns over half of Babitz’ body, the ...

29Nov

By Lena ZellerNo Comments

Culture, Literature

An Interview with Nadia El-Fassi

By Lena Zeller Imagine yourself walking into a cafe, the cold seeping from your limbs, the air smelling like treats that will not just revive you, but grant you just a little bit more luck. And perhaps you will run into the love of your life… Best Hex Ever comes as close to real magic as it gets, second only to being tolerated by a really grumpy cat. It transports you into a hidden, magical corner of London filled with love, warmth and a journey towards self-acceptance. Perfect not just for romance lovers, but for anyone looking to escape into a cosier, yet spooky reality. I had the pleasure of interviewing the wonderful Nadia El-Fassi, a Royal Holloway alumnus of the Creative Writing Poetry master’s program. Her recent debut novel Best Hex Ever is the ideal book to curl up in t...

Yellowface: the Parasitical Nature of ‘Wokeness’

13Nov

By Kiera GarciaNo Comments

Culture, Culture & Literature, Literature

Yellowface: the Parasitical Nature of ‘Wokeness’

By: Kiera Garcia - Associate Culture Editor R.F. Kuang’s Yellowface tells a striking tale of the commodification of diverse stories in the media and the negative effects they have. These tend to be on both communities they claim to represent as well as on the authors who aim to fulfil this voyeuristic exchange. Her novel follows June Hayward, a floundering novelist who witnesses the death of her friend Athena Liu, a much more successful author. In Athena’s death, June snatches a manuscript from her desk, ultimately choosing to ‘rework it’ and publish it under her own name. June becomes Juniper Song, changing her name and taking new author pictures in the aim to appear more ‘racially ambiguous’, enshrining herself as a writer whose new release, a World War II epic following the...

31Mar

By Daniel PepinNo Comments

Culture, Culture & Literature, Literature, Visual Arts

Are Tote Bags Still Cool?

By Daniel Pepin A cloth sack with straps and a print. That’s all a tote bag is. And yet, it is so much more. Getting across campus without seeing at least one tote bag is impossible. A bold Brick Lane Bookshop tote here and a sleek London Review of Books one there; a rare sighting of the coveted Shakespeare and Co. bag straight from Kilometre Zero Paris – they tend to permeate our surroundings. Each tote comes equipped with its own prestige stamped on the front or hiding in the small pocket stitched into pricier models. At once, it is a fashion and intellectual statement. But are they still cool? You would be hard-pressed to find an established independent bookshop without a tote bag of their very own, which is their genius. Picture a trip to your favourite bookstore - a hidden gem may...

Words from the Wild: The Nature of Poetry – An Interview with Briony Hughes

31Mar

By Charisse HauNo Comments

Culture, Culture & Literature, Literature, Visual Arts

Words from the Wild: The Nature of Poetry – An Interview with Briony Hughes

By Charisse Hau Words from the Wild: The Nature of Poetry is an exhibition exploring different forms of poetry in response to the natural world. The exhibition has been curated by Royal Holloway and TECHNE researchers Caroline Harris, Briony Hughes, and Gareth Hughes, in collaboration with the Royal Holloway Culture Team. In exploring the interplays between materiality and ecopoetry, I had the chance to talk to one of the curators, Briony Hughes, who is also a visiting tutor in English and Creative Writing, and PhD candidate. There are so many intersections between material, and poetry. Why and how is that used in this exhibition? “All of the poets in the space agree that a shift in climate necessitates a shift in how we approach poetic writing, and in particular, a shift in p...

A Closer Look at Alex Scott’s Inspirational Memoir, ‘How (Not) To Be Strong’

13Jan

By Beth McCowenNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Literature, Sports & Socs

A Closer Look at Alex Scott’s Inspirational Memoir, ‘How (Not) To Be Strong’

By Beth McCowen *Content Warning - discussion of domestic abuse* Now a highly-respected pundit, and ambassador for the domestic abuse charity Refuge, Alex Scott MBE became the best right-back of her time during an illustrious career as a high-level football player. The former Arsenal and England captain’s memoir was published in 2022. ‘How (Not) To Be Strong’ details not only Scott’s football journey, but also the story of her life so far. She may have gone from strength to strength as a player, and then as a broadcaster, but that is not to say it was easy. Scott describes some of the difficulties that came with growing up with a father who was an alcoholic, and became abusive. One part of the book which really struck a chord with me, was when Scott explains that her decis...

16Nov

By Daniel PepinNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Literature, Theatre & Performance

Bag Salad and Box Office

By Daniel Pepin Do you like contemporary fiction? The kind of fiction that makes you squirm? Boundary pushing, unsettling, compulsive, a little bit sexy? Then chances are you have read or at least heard of Boy Parts by Eliza Clark – if you have not then please do so, for the above reasons. Clark’s debut novel was an instant cult classic, epitomising the manic and obsessive world of the internet era – criticising and dissecting modern gender conflict, classism, and performative art. The razor blade sharp book follows Irina, a Northern fetish photographer as she humiliates and captures explicit photos of young men and boys while surviving off a heady mix of coke, ket, Tesco bag salad, and La Mer. The playbook opens with ‘this is the story as Irina tells it. She is an artist, a monster, a...

From Adolescence to Adulthood: an ode to Sally Rooney’s Normal People

16Nov

By Beth McCowenNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Literature

From Adolescence to Adulthood: an ode to Sally Rooney’s Normal People

By Madeline Sidgwick “I found it all moving and emotionally wrecking, in the best way.” James Poniewozik perfectly articulates my feelings upon discovering Sally Rooney’s 2018 novel Normal People. I came across Normal People after reading Rooney’s debut novel Conversations with Friends, which I consumed in two sittings, and was hoping to have the same gut-wrenching connection to the characters - I was more than pleasantly surprised. The bildungsroman arc follows Marianne and Connell from their final years of high school, through university, and into adulthood, both individually and within their ever-fluctuating relationship. Rooney perfectly depicts the anxieties, changes (both positive and negative), and frustrations of this period of life. The character-driven plot allows readers no...

How do you answer a question without questioning your answer?

16Nov

By Anna DiedrichsenNo Comments

Creative Writing, Lifestyle, Literature

How do you answer a question without questioning your answer?

By Anna Diedrichsen How do you write a love poem without confessing too much? Do you only write down half of what you think? Do you write like instead of love hoping they’ll understand either way? Do you dial down on the pink and instead use a dark grey? How do you speak without sharing too much? Do you ask questions, trying not to care? Do you let your sight wander, avoiding their eyes? Do you wait until someone asks you to share and then only tell them quiet white lies? How do you live without wanting to move on up? Do you stare out the same window every day waiting for the view to change? Do you long for salt but wish your...