Literature
Solitude and Islands
An all-levels literature course examining solitude, islands and narrative technique through memoir and fiction.
Choose a date before booking
Upcoming classes
1 class
About this course
The course studies Amy Liptrot’s memoir The Outrun and Sam Taylor’s novel The Island at the End of the World. Discussion considers solitude, recovery, alienation, refuge, family, authority and relationships with the natural world, alongside the cultural and historical meanings attached to islands. Participants examine how fiction and non-fiction use narrative techniques to shape readers’ responses, including the roles of place, myth and metaphor. Teaching combines tutor presentations, close reading, group discussion and breakout groups, with opportunities to share interpretations of the texts.
What you'll learn
- Discuss the selected texts in relation to their major themes and concerns
- Analyse narrative techniques and styles in memoir and fiction
- Examine how historical and cultural factors shape representations of solitude and islands
- Interpret the ways place, myth and metaphor contribute to literary meaning
Is this course right for you?
The course is open to anyone interested in reading and discussing memoir and fiction. No previous study of literature or memoirs, or prior reading of the set books, is required. Participation involves sharing responses in group and breakout discussions, alongside reading between classes and preparing tutor-provided questions.
- Suitable for learners without previous literature study
- Includes regular group discussion and breakout-group work
- Requires reading the set texts outside class
Before you go
- Participants need to buy or borrow Amy Liptrot’s The Outrun and Sam Taylor’s The Island at the End of the World.
- Writing materials should be brought to class.
- The tutor provides other reading and class materials.
- Preparation includes reading each week and considering questions supplied by the tutor.