Brutal Adolescence - Discussion

Date

October 29, 2010

Time

12:00–13:00

Place

King's College London, Strand Campus: London

Room

Council Room

Price

See below

Both Ross Raisin and James Miller explore the violence inherent in everyday life, exposing the brutality of adolescence. In his award-winning God’s Own Country (2008), Raisin takes on the voice of a Yorkshire youth who loses sight of the boundary between fantasy and reality, following his character’s descent into psychopathic violence. In Lost Boys (2008), Miller brings together terrorism in Iraq with the mundane but insidious cruelty of the English public school, suggesting there is a connection between individual and national violence.

Here Raisin and Miller will discuss the inspiration for their novels and consider the literary traditions behind their work. The discussion will open outward to consider the language of violence and to interrogate the relationship between psychological and political conflict.

Ross Raisin received a degree in English in 2002 from King’s which was followed by a period as a trainee wine bar manager and a postgraduate degree in creative writing at Goldsmith’s College. Raisin’s debut novel God’s Own Country was published in 2008, and was shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. The novel was one of 6 finalists for the 2008 Dylan Thomas Prize for authors under the age of 30.

Dr James Miller read English at the University of Oxford and has a PhD from King’s College London in American Literature. He has published a number of academic articles about African-American literature, Civil Rights and the 1960s counter-culture. James is currently teaching 20^th century American literature at King’s and he has also worked as a private tutor and A-level teacher. He reviews for The Daily Telegraph

Cost: Free, booking required. To book, please contact humanities-events(at)kcl.ac.uk

Part of King's College London Arts & Humanities Week

Organizers

Inside Out Festival

Registration

For this event no registration is necessary on the Inside Out Festival website but may (if stated above) be required elsewhere