Words of Wonder

About the event

Enjoy hands-on activities, storytelling, discussion and readings in this celebration of the wonder of words.

Chat to academics in our ‘Living Library’ 1.30 – 3.30pm exploring topics including A Jane Austen Object Lesson with Professor Kathryn Sutherland and Write Cut Reuse with Jemima Bennett
Experiment with words through collage, black-out poetry, and hanging lines of literature
Have a blind date with a book
Create and recreate stories with collaborative writing and narrative games
Take a tour of Kafka: Making of an Icon and print your own themed keepsake
Design an Odradek, Kafka’s mysterious being, ‘extraordinarily mobile and impossible to catch’

Transfiguration: the power of music and dance with MuMo Creative and Dance for Parkinson’s

11.30am – 12.30pm
Performance and workshop

Experience a synergy of sound, movement and creativity in this workshop co-created by MuMo Creative and their Dance for Parkinson’s group. Drawing inspiration from Kafka’s metamorphosis, the workshop combines live music, dance and creative exercises to boost physical and mental wellbeing, and to celebrate the transformative effects of dance and music.

Visitors are welcome to watch or join in!

MuMo Creative is an Oxford-based charity that offers creative dance, music and movement sessions to promote the physical and mental health of older people with age-related health conditions. This workshop is led by MuMo Creative’s music director Nia Williams and artistic directors Roosa Leimu-Brown and Louisa Dalton.

'Kill your darlings': the cutting room floor of literature

11.00 – 11.20am
Talk in the Sir Victor Blank Lecture Theatre

Dirk Van Hulle, Curator of Write Cut Rewrite This taster talk explores notes and drafts by major authors to discover the things that did not make it into the published text.