This page describes recent events and achievements by the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing and its members. You can also view our Twitter feed and follow us on Facebook.

6 March 2012: OCLW's term drew to a close with the second in our termly series of Life-Writing Lunches. This informal seminar was given by Dr Olivia Smith (St John's College, Oxford), about her work on John Locke and literature as an object of knowledge.

Next term has a packed programme of talks, panel discussions, and even an exclusive tour of an exhibition at the Ashmolean. Please visit our events page for more information. Please note that OCLW's director, Hermione Lee, and the Centre's Research Fellow/Administrator, Rachel Hewitt, will both be on leave from the end of this term until the start of Michaelmas Term 2012. In their absence, please direct any queries about OCLW in the first instance to simon [dot] cooke [at] wolfson [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk (Dr des. Simon Cooke), or to OCLW's associate director, elleke [dot] boehmer [at] ell [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk (Professor Elleke Boehmer). 

28 February 2012: The Weinrebe Lectures in Life-Writing ended with a bang, as biographers Daisy Hay (Young Romantics) and Pete Newbon (Children of the Romantics) gave generous, eloquent insights into their practice as biographers of groups of Romantic writers (in Daisy's case, the Shelleys, Byron, Keats and Leigh Hunt; in Pete's case, the children of Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Charles Lamb). In stimulating talks, followed by a discussion, Daisy and Pete reflected on the particular challenges posed by exploring the lives of the Romantic poets, not as archetypal solitary geniuses, but as sociable beasts, deeply entangled in the ties of family and friends.

Next year's series of Weinrebe Lectures will be themed around 'Life-Writing and Portraiture'. We're excited already!

21 February 2012: Today we look forward to the fourth in the Weinrebe Series of Lectures in Life-Writing, delivered by author Hisham Matar (5.30pm, the Hall). Over the last two weeks, we've relished a beautiful lecture by Candia McWilliam, and a stimulating conversation between Alan Hollinghurst and Hermione Lee. What a great series these lectures are proving to be!

3 February 2012: OCLW's Weinrebe Lectures in Life-Writing got off to a wonderful beginning last night, with a lecture from Michèle Roberts: '"Oh, you liar, you storyteller": On Fibbing, Fact and Fabulation'. Roberts' lecture offered a stimulating blend of moving personal accounts, and thought-provoking reflections on the theory of life-writing. An audio file of the lecture will be made available on the OCLW website very soon. 

You can access the lecture programme here, or download it as a PDF file here. 

16 January 2012: Two forthcoming conferences on life-writing to flag up: the European Network on the Theory and Practice of Biography will be holding its 2012 conference (on 'Life and Work') at the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing, at Wolfson College, from 19-21 April 2012. Please see the Network's website for more information, and you can view the conference programme by clicking here. Please direct any queries regarding the conference toroy [dot] foster [at] hertford [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk ( Professor Roy Foster). OCLW is not responsible for the administration of this event, and cannot reply to queries regarding it. 

Meanwhile, the AHRC 'Challenges to Biography' network is hosting a conference, 'Can Biography Survive?', at the University of Southampton on 3-4 July 2012. See the network's website for further details.  

January 2012: OCLW has got the year off to an exciting start, with a mention in a Telegraph article by Gaby Wood considering the nature of 'the new biography'.

We have a packed programme of lectures and seminars for the forthcoming term, including the Weinrebe Lectures in Life-Writing, which features a conversation between Alan Hollinghurst and OCLW's director Hermione Lee. Please see our events page for further information.

Finally, we are pleased to announce that Map of a Nation: A Biography of the Ordnance Survey by OCLW's research fellow, Dr Rachel Hewitt, was  shortlisted for the 'Book of the Year Prize' as part of the Longman Pearson History Today awards. 

December 2011: It has been an exciting term for OCLW - we had our official launch on Tues 15 November 2011, with a wonderfully stimulating lecture by Professor Michael Wood (see below). OCLW also kicked off its termly lunchtime seminar, the Life-Writing Lunch, with a talk by Dr Rachel Hewitt on her book Map of a Nation: A Biography of the Ordnance Survey. And the term began with a beautifully eloquent lecture by Professor Hermione Lee on the subject of 'Literary Encounters', at Lincoln's Inn, London. Please explore our webpages for details of everything that's happening next term, including the Weinrebe Lectures in Life-Writing; another Life-Writing Lunch (with Dr Olivia Smith); and a seminar on the subject of Romantic group biography. We look forward to seeing you at an OCLW event in the near future!

Tues 29 November 2011:OCLW's Research Fellow and Administrator, Rachel Hewitt, launched our termly series of 'Life-Writing Lunches' by speaking about her book Map of a Nation: A Biography of the Ordnance Survey and the relationship between mapping and biography. Our next Life-Writing Lunch will be held on Tuesday 6 March (Week 8 of Hilary Term): Dr Olivia Smith (St John's, Oxford) will be speaking about her work on John Locke. Please see the Events page for more information.

Tues 15 November 2011: The Oxford Centre for Life-Writing was launched with a wonderful Inaugural Lecture by Professor Michael Wood (Princeton) (entitled 'All About his Mother: Reading Proust's Letters') and a launch party. Click here to read a report of the evening.

Thurs 10 November 2011: OCLW's director Professor Hermione Lee appeared on BBC Radio 4's Front Row, reviewing director Ian Rickson's new production of Hamlet, starring Michael Sheen. Listen to Hermione's review here.

Sat 5 November 2011: OCLW's Research Fellow Dr Rachel Hewitt gave a 15-minute lecture at the BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival in Gateshead, entitled 'Mapping the Border'. This was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 8 November at 10.45pm. Listen to Rachel's lecture here.

Tues 25 October 2011: OCLW's director and Wolfson's President, Professor Hermione Lee, gave an evocative lecture at Lincoln's Inn, London, entitled 'From Memory: Isaiah Berlin, Literary Encounters and Life-Stories'. Click here to read an account of the evening, watch a video or download a podcoast.

Saturday 1 October 2011: Three new members began their association with OCLW. Lucinda Fenny (History) and Grace Egan (English) are DPhil students attached to the Centre and to Wolfson College as Life-Writing Scholars. Dr Rachel Hewitt came to Wolfson as Weinrebe Research Fellow and OCLW's administrator.

Friday 16-Sunday 18 September 2011: OCLW and Wolfson College hosted the inaugural conference of the Travel Cultures interdisciplinary research seminar, entitled 'Travel and Truth'. OCLW's director, Professor Hermione Lee, gave the introductory address, and the conference featured plenary lectures by Professor James Buzard (MIT), Professor Ottmar Ette (Potsdam), Michael Wood (BBC broadcaster and historian) and Professor Tim Youngs (Nottingham Trent).

To keep up-to-date with our news and events, please follow us on Twitter @OxLifeWriting. You can also find us on Facebook.