Following the award of the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature to Emeritus Professor Abdulrazak Gurnah we have great pleasure in celebrating this wonderful achievement with a display of his works in the Templeman Library Welcome Hall.   

Running from 10 February until 15 April, you can take your own journey to ‘Paradise’ and explore his stories of love and war, politics and history: in short, of human nature and the human heart in its infinite complexity.  

His books, some of which were first drafted in the Templeman Library, have touched millions worldwide and shine a light on human experiences that are so often ignored. The Nobel Committee awarded this year’s Prize to Professor Gurnah for ‘his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.’ 

We are very excited to share the collection with our students, staff and visitors to the Library in-person or online! You can browse and borrow any book from the display or discover more in our digital resources list of e-books. 

In an exclusive, sold out appearance at the Gulbenkian Arts Centre on Thursday 24 February 2022, Nobel Laureate & Professor Emeritus of English and Postcolonial Literatures Abdulrazak Gurnah returns to Kent to reflect on his life, writing, and sense of place and belonging. This event will be live streamed on the University’s YouTube channel so you will still be able to enjoy Professor Gurnah’s talk.