Series of events to honour the Victorian poet Gerard Manley Hopkins

The University of Roehampton is proud to launch “Hopkins Celebrated” – a series of events to honour the Victorian poet Gerard Manley Hopkins. Hopkins spent his novitiate as a Jesuit priest at Manresa House, now the home of Whitelands College, and later returned for a while to teach.

Hopkins Celebrated will culminate with the inaugural Hopkins Lecture at 5.30pm on Wednesday 1 May 2013. This will see Sir Andrew Motion, the former Poet Laureate, in a personal poet-to-poet encounter, where he will focus on Hopkins’ ways of looking and examining the Jesuit ‘discipline of the eyes’.

Earlier on in the afternoon, the University’s newly appointed Poet-in-Residence - Chris Hamilton-Emery of Salt Publishing - will be giving his first master class. The Business of Poetry will provide guidance on how to submit and sell poetry as well as providing an opportunity to workshop poetry with one of the key players in the poetry world. Chris is a poet and publisher, which makes him uniquely positioned to comment on the life of a poet, trying to perfect work, getting poetry published, and the business side of writing. Tickets for the class, which will take place between 2 and 4.30 pm on Wednesday 1 May, cost £5 (£1 for University of Roehampton staff and students).

Spaces at both events are limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
Tickets for the lecture can be booked online at: www.roehampton.ac.uk/hopkins.
Click for Tickets for the masterclass

Lastly, the Hopkins Poetry Prize offers a top prize of £250. Entrants should submit a piece of poetry of no more than 500 words, or a series of thematically related poems whose total combined word count should not exceed 500 words. The poem(s) may be on any topic and the competition is open to all University of Roehampton students, across all disciplines. The closing date for submissions is Monday 22 April. All entrants obtain free admission to The Business of Poetry master class.

For further information and to download an entry form, please click here.

April 26, 2013