Plymouth Literature Project

Making Plymouth a centre of excellence for literature

The Plymouth Literature Project (PLP) aims to re-articulate and promote the importance of reading and writing within both our local environment and wider society, positioning the University as a dynamic hub for teaching, research and public engagement by combining our expertise with that of our partner, Literature Works.

Enriching our teaching and learning through creative opportunities, the project can support our graduates to develop successful careers as writers, editors, teachers, arts managers, publishers and future patrons of the Arts. This project has the potential to produce strategies of national and international significance that will transform the literature landscape in the South West and far beyond.

Losing sight of literature

The positive impact of literature in society is in danger of being overshadowed. Whilst we live in an information age, there is a very real danger, for the first time in living memory, that opportunities to access and practice literary art will diminish. Should this continue, a shrinking literature sector will not only see our literature students graduating into a society that isn’t able to meet their ambitions but also one that is infinitely impoverished for all our graduates.

At the University, our commitment to provide opportunities to our English and Creative Writing students and researchers to buck this troubling trend is weakened by fragmented and silo activity, in addition to an invisible physical literature presence.

Raising the visibility

Building on the foundations of a strong literature offer the Plymouth Literature Project (PLP) in partnership with Literature Works will position Plymouth as a leading dynamic hub for creativity and sector sustainability. The framework through which all the University’s literature activity and achievements can be celebrated. It will embrace cross-disciplinary working with other areas such as health, medicine and the sciences, combining research activity.

Building on our strengths

The partnership between the University and Literature Works, the only literature development agency in the South West and the only grant awarding body in the sector, presents a unique value proposition for Plymouth.

The literature profile of the University’s staff base and an extended partner network, provides an incredibly strong foundation from which to thrive. The University is in a position to draw on areas of expertise not only across the Social but also the Environmental and Marine Sciences to realise ambitions around sector sustainability and growth, and to advocate, in a multi-disciplinary context, the importance of the literary across all walks of society.

A rich environment

In harnessing expertise and growing the profile of literature, the project has the potential to impress and attract eminent staff and partners, and position Plymouth as a first choice destination for studying literature. It will further enrich this environment by underpinning educational excellence with support and delivering a mechanism by which to increase work experience and continuing professional development opportunities.

National Memory Day

Celebrating the power of poetry and creative writing to improve the lives of those affected by memory loss

The potential for creative writing and poetry to empower those affected by memory loss is celebrated by National Memory Day, a project led by Literature Works, in partnership with English and Creative Writing at the University of Plymouth, Alzheimer’s Society and The Poetry Archive.

The project is raising funds to provide a programme of workshops in the Alzheimer’s Society Memory Café initiative around the UK, which explore memories through the recital and recollection of poetry. Money raised will also underpin medical research into dementia therapies and in search of a cure.

For more information about the project and to donate, please visit the National Memory Day website.