The School of English at the University of Kent is delighted to announce that Iain Sinclair has been appointed as its inaugural Guest Professor of Creative Writing. Iain Sinclair is an internationally acclaimed writer of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. In 2010 he was shortlisted for the Ondaatje Award for Hackney: That Rose-Red Empire, and his novel, Downriver, won both the James Tait Black Memorial Award and the Encore Award. His collaborative film projects include The Falconer, with Chris Petit, and more recently By Our Selves with Andrew Kötting, and his many volumes of poetry include Lud Heat with Albion Press and The Penances with The Many Press. He writes regularly for the London Review of Books and The Guardian, appears frequently on Radios 3 and 4, and in 1996 he edited the ground breaking poetry anthology Conductors of Chaos (Picador).
Iain Sinclair joins the School of English at a successful moment in its history, the department having recently been ranked 8th in The Guardian University League Table 2016 and 10th for Research Intensity in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework. In his role as Guest Professor, Sinclair will contribute to the School’s thriving MA and BA programmes in Creative Writing, and students at all levels will have the opportunity to attend his seminars, talks and project workshops.
David Herd, Head of the School of English, welcomed the new appointment: ‘Iain Sinclair will be a very exciting presence in the School and the University. His seminars and workshops will be of huge benefit to our students and the range and scope of his writing will be a source of great stimulation to our research culture. We very much look forward to working with him.’
Iain Sinclair will give an inaugural public lecture on Wednesday October 7th, at 4pm in Keynes Lecture Theatre 1. The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception and a screening of By Our Selves.
All welcome.