Nottingham map opens up city's literary story
Morning briefing Nottingham
Temperature
9° to 15°C
Rain
Showers through the day
Wind
Gusts 22 mph
Sunset
20:58
Ride details Good to ride
Recommended gear
- Jacket
- Light layers
Best times to ride
Windy today
- 06 9°
- 09 11°
- 12 13°
- 15 13°
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- 21 13°
Today is the last day for children up to 16 years-old to submit their stories or poems to enter the D.H. Lawrence Children's Prize, run by Broxtowe Council. Entrants are hoping to win the first prize Kindle with runners up getting book tokens, all presented at the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum in Eastwood next month.
The year focuses around the theme of "friendship". We can look back at Lawrence's friendships with people like E.M. Forster only because he wrote about them. This is a tradition we need others to build on - especially in a mordern world where stories seem electronic and ethemeral. Getting children writing helps keep alive Nottingham's City of Literature atmosphere.
The Nottingham City of Literature team have launched a Literary Map of Nottingham this month, with subscribers to the LeftLion getting it as their bonus perk. It can be found in Nottingham Tourism Centre, Five Leaves bookshop, Bromley House Library, Nottingham Central Library, and Inspire libraries like Beeston and West Bridgford.
The map was a project between University of Nottingham and Visit Nottinghamshire, illustrated by Chloë Holwill-Hunter, and funded by the Arts Council England. It recognises both local historic and modern impacts Notts has had on the literary world.
The physical map acts as a guide and tourism device, hoping to bring in more visitors to Nottinghamshire. However, it's also designed for locals to discover the hidden gems around them. On the map is the Fox and Grapes, a well known Sneinton Market pub, but did you know it hosted poetry events regularly? One of the last remaining women's libraries in the UK is in Nottingham, the Women's Centre Library and Archive.
As part of its collaboration with University of Nottingham, it's also possible to see the map projected onto the PARM: The Projection Augmented Relief Model, a UoN technology used by its City as Lab project at Castle Meadow Campus.
Whether following the map of literary hotspots around the city, or writing 500 words about the friends made along the way, Nottingham is trying to turn the love of words from a passive to an active activity.
