On Thursday 26 March staff and students from the School of English collaborated on a day-long reading of Virginia Woolf’s 1931 novel The Waves. The reading took place at various venues in Canterbury, and followed, just as Woolf’s novel does, the rising and setting of the sun. The opening reading took place, aptly, in Kent’s postgraduate Woolf College, before the readers and spectators walked in to the city of Canterbury. Other venues included the King’s School, who generously offered the use of their Library and Chapel, the banqueting hall of the 14th century pub The Parrot, and the upper bar of the Marlowe Theatre, which offered unparalleled views of the sunset over Canterbury and the Cathedral. The reading was both a literary and physical journey, each new reader and venue bought fresh insights and revaluations. Event organisers Dr Derek Ryan and Dr Ariane Mildenberg (both lecturers in Modernism in the School of English) encouraged students on Modernist modules to participate in this unique event in one of Woolf’s favourite cities.
The event was free and open to all but a collection was made on behalf of ‘The Book Bus’ charity which works with underprivileged communities in Malawi, Zambia and Ecuador. The event has already raised over £800 but the JustGiving page will remain open for donations for several weeks. All Day Waves was also generously sponsored by Oxford World’s Classics, publishers of a new edition of The Waves.
All Day Waves was part of the Festival of English which is taking place throughout 2015. English Literature was one of the University of Kent’s founding subjects and as the University celebrates its 50th anniversary the school also celebrates the milestone of fifty years at the forefront of local, national and international literary studies. Festival events, which will continue throughout 2015, are predominantly free and open to all. Woolf enthusiasts are cordially invited to attend Dr Derek Ryan’s lecture ‘Virginia Woolf: Voyaging Out, 1910–1915’ on Tuesday 17th November 2015 (6pm, Grimond Lecture Theatre 2) as part of the Festival Open Lecture Series.
You can view the Storify of the event here: https://storify.com/UniKentEnglish/all-day-waves