Service Update: Hilary Term 2025

Introduction

Welcome to 2025! Are you a new year, new you? Whether your goals for 2025 are to knuckle down and study harder or to strike a better work/life balance, the EFL team are here to help. We’ve got plenty of study spaces, a coffee shop just next door, and a friendly face always ready to greet you at the library desk. To keep abreast of our latest developments, read on below…

Opening Hours

In 0th week, the EFL will be open:

Monday – Friday
9am – 5am
Saturday
10am – 1pm

From 1st week onwards, the EFL will be open:

Monday – Friday
9am – 7pm
Saturday
10am – 1pm

Vacation Loans

Books that went out for a Vacation Loan over the winter holidays will be due back at the library on Tuesday 21st January. These can be renewed as per the usual Bodleian rules (if they haven’t been requested by another reader and have been out for less than 112 days).

New Computers

In December, the English Faculty Library (along with lots of other Bodleian Libraries) had our Reader Computers and Quick Search Machines replaced with shiny new models. You can find these in our Computer Room and throughout our reading rooms. We’ve also used this as an opportunity to free up more desk space with plug sockets for the use of personal devices in the computer room. This allows us to better incorporate personal devices into both the study space and teaching!

Library Display: The Subtleties of Snow

Curated by Harry Whattoff, Graduate Trainee

Michaelmas term saw the Oxford’s first snow of the season! In step, we’ve put together a library display for you that explores eight literary depictions of snow. The display features writers from Charles Dickens to Ocean Vuong, from Emily Dickinson to Yasunari Kawabata. You can explore the display in person in our reading rooms or, if you’re not yet back in Oxford, you check out our companion blog!

Previous Display: Handle With Care, curated by Sophie Lay (Senior Library Assistant, Reader Services).
Upcoming Display: Banned Books, curated by Harry Whattoff (Graduate Trainee).

English Faculty Library Move Updates

In the long vacation in summer of 2025, the English Faculty Library will be moving into the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.

The planned close date of the English Faculty Library is Friday 4th July 2025 (Trinity Term, end of 10th week). This will be after the end of undergraduate exams and MSt deadlines.

There will be no library access after the closure date, until the opening of the new library in late September (exact date to be confirmed). Readers will be able to borrow books for the vacation before 4th July, and then return them to the new library the following term.

We will keep you updated on the move as it progresses. That being said, if you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out to us using the contact details below.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or need help with anything, our library staff will always be available during opening hours to speak with you.

You can also contact us via:

All our details can be found on the English Faculty Library webpage.

New Books Michaelmas 2024

Michaelmas term has officially come to a close and things have certainly slowed down at the EFL. One thing which does remain busy, however, is our processing table – we’ve had some very exciting new titles make their way into the library recently! So, if you’ve made plans to cosy up with a book over the next few weeks, or, are hoping to hit your 2024 reading goal but are unsure on what to finish the year off with, then maybe this curated list of some of our hottest Michaelmas acquisitions will give you some ideas.

For future reference, if you ever want to keep an eye on what’s making its way into the library but can’t quite make it in, then check out LibraryThing to stay in the loop. We also have our New Books Display (frequently updated by yours truly) which is where most of our recent additions end up. Anyway, let’s get onto the books.

Fiction

Look at all of these beautiful covers! Here’s a little about each one:

  • James / Percival Everett – A reimagining of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, told from the perspective of Huck’s companion, Jim. Shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, Everett’s novel contemplates identity, belonging, and oppression.
  • The Hotel / Daisy Johnson – A collection of short horror stories set in a hotel on the Fens. Built upon cursed ground, the hotel becomes that liminal space where things are not quite as they seem…
  • The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho / Paterson Joseph – An historical fiction novel based upon the real life of Charles Ignatius Sancho. Understood to be one of Britain’s first Black voters, Sancho was a writer, composer, and abolitionist in the 18th century.
  • The Safe Keep / Yael van der Wouden – Another 2024 Booker Prize shortlist title, The Safe Keep follows Isabel’s comfortable and structured life in post-WWII Netherlands. However, Isabel’s routine is suddenly overturned by the arrival of her brother’s girlfriend Eva: the catalyst for the ensuing tale of desire, fury, and discovery.
  • The Mighty Red / Louise Erdrich – Set in a small farming community in North Dakota, environmental concerns are the bedrock of Erdrich’s novel. The central plot  revolves around those embroiled in an ill-fated wedding, all dealing with the difficulties of rural life amidst the 2008 financial crisis.
  • Long Island / Colm Tóibín – This novel is a follow-up to Tóibín’s bestseller Brooklyn in which Eilis Lacey immigrates from Ireland to New York City in the 1950s. Having now been married for twenty years, Eilis suddenly meets a stranger who throws her whole existence into question.

Poetry

We’ve had some absolutely stunning poetry titles arrive at the EFL this term – here’s just a snapshot:

  • Mother of Flip-Flops / Mukahang Limbu – An upcoming Oxford-based poet (and alumnus!) who writes about queerness, boyhood and the immigrant experience amongst other topics. This is his debut publication.
  • With My Back to the World / Victoria Chang – This poetry collection is a literary conversation with American artist Agnes Martin. Using her abstract artwork as the stimulus for her own meditations on grief, identity, feminism and depression, Chang’s poetry is deeply affecting.
  • Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology / edited by Rigoberto González – a wonderful collection of over 180 poets from the 17th century to present day. Those poems written in Spanish are displayed in their original language alongside an English translation.
  • Manorism / Yomi Ṣode – An analysis of the lives of Black British men and boys, this debut collection traverses through topics of identity, family, generational trauma, and masculinity.
  • The Keelie Hawk: Poems in Scots / Kathleen Jamie – The previous Scottish Makar (national poet), Jamie’s collection reflects on various aspects of nature and the human experience. Each poem is also accompanied with an English translation.
  • Signs, Music / Raymond Antrobus – A tender exploration into preparing for and experiencing fatherhood for the first time. Antrobus writes about love, legacy, the deaf experience and masculinity in this moving collection.

Non-fiction

If non-fiction titles are more your style, then perhaps one of these will take your fancy:

  • The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective / Sara Lodge – This text uncovers the forgotten lives of the real female detectives at work in Victorian Britain. It also examines their role and portrayal in Victorian drama and fiction and how this compares to their lived experiences.
  • Salvage: Readings from the Wreck / Dionne Brand – This text is the first non-fiction title from Brand since her brilliant A Map to the Door of No Return (also at the EFL!). In Salvage, Brand returns to the classic novel to explore traces of colonialism and the legacies of empire more widely in literature between the 17th and 19th centuries.
  • The Position of Spoons: and Other Intimacies / Deborah Levy – This book is an intimate invitation to the thoughts and inspirations behind Levy’s writing process.
  • Young Bloomsbury: The Transgressive Generation that Reimagined Love, Freedom and Self-Expression / Nino Strachey – A detailed look into the colourful lives of those in the Bloomsbury Group, written by a descendent of core member Lytton Strachey.
  • The Dictionary People: The Unsung Heroes Who Created the Oxford English Dictionary / Sarah Ogilvie – This one’s for the word-lovers! Ogilvie’s book tells the story of the hugely diverse group of people who contributed to the creation of one of the world’s most famous texts.
  • Hardy Women: Mother, Sisters, Wives, Muses / Paula Byrne – Byrne’s book is both an examination of the fictional women that Hardy wrote and an exploration into the real women that shaped his life, imagination, and his work.

This concludes our new books post for Michaelmas 2024; I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about some of the wonderful titles we’ve acquired over the last few months! As mentioned, this is just a few of the many we have added to our shelves here at the EFL, so do have a look at LibraryThing for the complete list of our new books if you’d like to.

Wishing you a restful winter vacation – happy reading!

Service Update: Winter Vacation 2024/25

Introduction

What an eventful Michaelmas term! We’d like to take a moment to congratulate you on making it through the first term of the academic year. It’s always a busy one, and the English Faculty Library has been busy too! We hope you’ll make some time to rest and relax over the vacation. For those of you loaning books or using the library over the vacation, we have a few updates below to help you out.

Opening Hours

For the vacation (starting Sunday 8th December), the English Faculty Library will be open:

OPENING HOURS:
Monday – Friday
9am – 5pm

Closure Period

The English Faculty Library will be closed from:

CLOSURE PERIOD:
Monday 23rd December – Wednesday 1st January (inclusive)

Vacation Loans

Books that are borrowed on or after Monday 2nd December are automatically on loan for the whole vacation. These will all be due for return on Tuesday 21st January (excepting members whose cards expire before this date). Aside from this, all normal loan policies apply.

Library Display: The Subtleties of Snow

Curated by Harry Whattoff, Graduate Trainee

Michaelmas term saw the Oxford’s first snow of the season! In step, we’ve put together a library display for you that explores eight literary depictions of snow. The display features writers from Charles Dickens to Ocean Vuong, from Emily Dickinson to Yasunari Kawabata! You can explore the display in person in our reading rooms or, if you’ve already gone home for the vacation, you check out our companion blog!

Previous Display: Handle With Care, curated by Sophie Lay (Senior Library Assistant, Reader Services).

English Faculty Library Move Updates

In the long vacation in summer of 2025, the English Faculty Library will be moving into the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.

The planned close date of the English Faculty Library is Friday 4th July 2025 (Trinity Term, end of 10th week). This will be after the end of undergraduate exams and MSt deadlines.

There will be no library access after the closure date, until the opening of the new library in late September (exact date to be confirmed). Readers will be able to borrow books for the vacation before 4th July, and then return them to the new library the following term.

We will keep you updated on the move as it progresses. That being said, if you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out to us using the contact details below.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or need help with anything, our library staff will always be available during opening hours to speak with you.

You can also contact us via:

All our details can be found on the English Faculty Library webpage.

A New Display at the EFL!

The Subtleties of Snow: Eight Literary Depictions

Although we are technically still in Autumn, the days of long evening shadows and crisp, brown leaves underfoot seem well behind us now. The sun sets at 4pm, and bitter winds have finally begun to blow down Oxford’s narrow streets signifying an imminent close to the 2024 Michaelmas Term. We’ve even had our first flurry of snow – the very subject of our new display at the English Faculty Library.

The display queries the way in which snow has impacted characters in literature, or, acted as potential inspiration for authors. Furthermore, it highlights some of the many ways which writers have used snow to develop specific narratives and/or to allude to wider social issues. This blog post will detail the eight texts used in the display and discuss how snow has more of an impact on them than it may initially seem.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous / Ocean Vuong (2019)

Whilst snow is not a central motif in Vuong’s memoir, his depiction of it is still noteworthy. Towards the opening of the text, our protagonist, Little Dog, is asked by his grandmother, Lan, to pluck out her grey hairs. Having been deeply affected by the horrors of the Vietnam War in her youth, Lan struggles with PTSD, and Vuong suggests that this trauma has imbued itself into her physical being; it has become the grey hairs on her head. Lan says, “Help me, Little Dog. […] Help me stay young, get this snow off of my life – get it all off my life” (Vuong 23).

As Little Dog extracts her hair, Lan extracts vivid memories and stories from the war, almost as though the action of removal consequently produces these images of the past. Vuong writes that “the room filled with our voices as the snow fell from her head, the hardwood around my knees whitening as the past unfolded around us” (23). Here, snow acts as a route into the past, becoming the vessel in which Vuong can highlight how physically attached those memories are to Lan. But why does Lan call these grey hairs “snow” in the first place? And, to what extent can we think of snow as invoking the past more widely? Questions to ponder over…

“As I plucked, the blank walls around us did not so much fill with fantastical landscapes as open into them, the plaster disintegrating to reveal the past behind it.” (22)

– This item can be requested from the Collections Storage Facility (CSF)!

Dubliners / James Joyce (1914)

One of the most famous depictions of snow in literature comes from James Joyce’s short story “The Dead,” featured in Dubliners. A tale about hopelessness and mediocrity, it follows Gabriel Conroy who attends a Christmas party with his wife, Gretta. As they are about to leave, Gabriel notices his wife deeply entranced by a song she hears. It transpires that she was moved by the memory of Michael Furey, a young lover of hers who had died from trying to visit her in the rain whilst ill. This sends Gabriel into a spiral of contemplation, causing him to realise how he had never been able to love so passionately.

Having to compete with the dead provokes a sense of meaninglessness and fragility within Gabriel, one that is exacerbated by the wintry weather outside. Saint-Amour writes that “the final paragraph of “The Dead” describes the loss of distinctions—the blurring of localities by a universalizing snowfall, the merging of “all” the living and the dead” (108), illustrating how the snow acts as a reminder of finality and mortality; it is the ultimate end to all. Like for Vuong then, snow in “The Dead” is the gateway between past and present, but here, it is also the gateway between the world of the living and the dead, with Joyce using it as a warning to all of what is to come.

“Yes, the newspapers were right: snow was general all over Ireland. It was falling on every part of the dark central plain, on the treeless hills, falling softly upon the Bog of Allen and, farther westward, softly falling into the dark mutinous Shannon waves. It was falling, too, upon every part of the lonely churchyard on the hill where Michael Furey lay buried. It lay thickly drifted on the crooked crosses and headstones, on the spears of the little gate, on the barren thorns. His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead.” (Joyce 176)

“It sifts from Leaden Sieves –” / Emily Dickinson (1862)

– Emily Dickinson’s Poems: As She Preserved Them

Snow appears in Dickinson’s poetry almost sixty times (Folsom 362). This poem is one of her most famous allusions to it and highlights the endless nature of a cold winter. Dickinson does this predominantly through the poem’s structure. Written in uninterrupted quatrains, these provide a sense of permanency, as though the snow that falls ubiquitously is ceaseless. This is furthered by the excessive use of dashes and caesuras throughout – the snow continues to cover everything. As Folsom notes, “Dickinson portrays no human life; the scene is relentlessly one of desolation; snow is no place to frolic in Dickinson’s world” (370). So, snow becomes representative of death and isolation; it is, like for Joyce, that metamorphic substance which turns the land of the living into the land of the dead.

“It Ruffles Wrists of Posts

As Ankles of a Queen –

Then stills it’s Artisans – like Ghosts –

Denying they have been -” (Dickinson ll. 17-20)

See the full poem on the Poetry Foundation website below:

“It sifts from Leaden Sieves –” / Emily Dickinson

A Christmas Carol / Charles Dickens (1843)

Snow is simply a feature of winter in this one, but it’s fair to say that the display would feel incomplete without Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Scrooge is our protagonist, a man who famously despises Christmas but undergoes a great transformation throughout the text. One of the ways in which Dickens portrays this is through his depiction of the weather. In the opening, he writes that, “external heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. […] No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose […]. Foul weather didn’t know where to have him” (Dickens 8). In other words, his indifference to the weather reflects his own sense of superiority, as well as his withdrawal from society more widely. It also resembles his cold-heartedness – a classic example of pathetic fallacy!

Over the course of the novella, as each spirit visits Scrooge, he learns that he must change his miserly ways. Upon waking up on Christmas morning, after a night of tough realisations, Scrooge notes that there is “no fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial, stirring, cold; cold, piping for the blood to dance to; Golden sunlight; Heavenly sky; sweet fresh air; merry bells. Oh, glorious. Glorious!” (134). So, as Scrooge changes, so does the weather; his reaction to it symbolic of a new beginning.

“‘I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!’ Scrooge repeated” (132)

Snow Country / Yasunari Kawabata (1956)

Snow Country is a jewel in the literary crown of Japanese fiction. First published in 1956, it was one of the texts cited by the Nobel Committee when awarding Kawabata the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968. The novel follows Shimamura’s retreat to an onsen town in Niigata where he reignites a romantic relationship with a geisha named Komako. Kawabata writes Shimamura’s entry to the rural snowy landscape as though it were an entry to a new world altogether. The opening line reads: “the train came out of the long tunnel into the snow country” (Kawabata  3), thus, beginning his novel with a shift into a dazzling yet unforgiving new terrain. The snow is immediately a transformative force.

But in Kawabata’s novel, the snow is not simply part of a landscape, it is part of a tradition. Towards the text’s climax, Shimamura wanders around various remote villages in the area. He is trying to find Chijimi – a type of material used for making clothes which has historically been bleached in the snow. Kawabata writes: “there is Chijimi linen because there is snow […]. Snow is the mother of Chijimi” (104). Known for being remarkably durable, the thought of Chijimi makes Shimamura compare its strength to his fading admiration for Komako, realising that he must end things with her. Snow then becomes a symbol of creation, endurance, and change in the novel – a force which even love cannot compete with.

“The thread was spun in the snow, and the cloth woven in the snow, washed in the snow, and bleached in the snow. Everything, from the first spinning of the thread to the last finishing touches, was done in the snow.” (Kawabata 104)

– This item can be requested from the Collections Storage Facility (CSF)!

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” / Robert Frost (1923)

– Complete Poems of Robert Frost

Whilst not indicative of death like in Dickinson’s poem, snow in Frost’s poem certainly brings about questions of mortality. Arguably his most famous work, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” depicts the speaker stopping mid-journey to watch snow fall peacefully upon some woods, then eventually continuing with their trip. A poem of stasis and of quiet, it has endless analytical possibilities and garners just as many questions. Why does the speaker stop? What entices the speaker about the forest? Where is the speaker heading? These are just a few of those questions.

Whilst these are all up to interpretation, it is evident that the snow adds to a sense of mystery and curiosity throughout. Without it, perhaps the speaker would not have even stopped. So, what it is about the snow then? If it does symbolise death as in some of the other works in this display, then is the speaker contemplating death? If they are, is that what the final repeated lines are referring to? Or do we need to build upon the (almost) silence of the poem to suggest that the speaker just wanted to take a break from a tiring journey? Perhaps listening to “the sweep of easy wind and downy flake” (ll. 11-12) allowed them that peace. Either way, the snow here plays a critical role, so have another read through and see what answers you can come up with.

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.” (Frost ll. 13-16)

See the full poem on the Poetry Foundation website below:

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” / Robert Frost

Native Son / Richard Wright (1940)

Richard Wright predominantly wrote about the social injustices and discrimination that Black people experienced in America in the early twentieth century. His novel Native Son is set in a poor area of Chicago’s South Side in which his protagonist, Bigger Thomas, lives with his family. Bigger’s life takes a tragic turn when he accidentally kills a White woman, and the plot which consequently unfolds reveals the racial prejudices that were prevalent at the time.

Wright alludes to nature extensively in the text, but his depiction of snow is particularly important. After Bigger’s gruesome attempt to cover his actions are discovered, he flees into a blizzard. He writes:

“Then he leaped, headlong, sensing his body twisting in the icy air as he hurtled. […] He was in the air a moment; then he hit. It seemed at first that he hit softly, but the shock of it went through him, up his back to his head and he lay buried in a cold pile of snow, dazed. Snow was in his mouth, eyes, ears; snow was seeping down his back” (Wright 651).

Montgomery suggests that “the snow is emblematic of the cold white world which opposes Bigger’s quest for selfhood” (460), illustrating how Wright utilises the weather to highlight the oppressive forces working against Bigger. This is further realised when Bigger is eventually captured in the snow by the Chicago Police. For Wright then, snow is a tool to expose wider social issues – a tool which Wright additionally employs in some of the many haikus that he wrote towards the end of his life.

Emma / Jane Austen (1815)

As in the modern day, snow also made headlines in Georgian England. Most notably in the winter of 1813/14, when London was so cold that the Thames froze over and paved an icy path for the city’s final Frost Fair. Heavy snow was also widely reported across the country, with various accidents occurring as a result. It was after this infamous winter that Jane Austen began writing Emma (Introduction xxi)…

In Chapter 15, set at the Weston’s home during a Christmas Eve dinner, Mr John Knightley declares that it has begun to snow. In a frenzy of concern about how they shall safely return home in less than half an inch of snow, the party attendants scramble into different carriages. This suddenly leaves Emma Woodhouse, our matchmaking protagonist, alone with the (rather tipsy) Mr Elton – the vicar.

Consequently, Mr Elton makes a rather abrupt marriage proposal to Emma, “declaring sentiments which must be already well known, hoping – fearing – adoring – ready to die if she refused him” (Austen 101). Sadly, for Mr Elton, she does indeed refuse him, but this moment in a frosty carriage highlights Elton’s intention to marry for money; he marries another wealthy woman shortly after this rejection.

It is interesting to observe here how Austen uses the weather as a chance to deepen character complexities and develop the narrative. Bartlett writes that “the snow in Emma is one of those events which provides everyone present with the opportunity to act intensely in character” (152), suggesting that, for Elton, his character is, in fact, one motivated by money and social status; a character which, arguably, only the warmth of “Mr Weston’s good wine” (101) and the cold of the snow could oust from his façade.

“The snow was no where above half an inch deep – in many places hardly enough to whiten the ground; a very few flakes were falling at present, but the clouds were parting, and there was every appearance of its being soon over.” (100)

Honourable Mentions:

  • Winter / Ali Smith
  • “The Snow Fairy” / Claude McKay
  • I’m Thinking of Ending Things / Iain Reid
  • The Ice Palace / Tarjei Vesaas
  • Little Women / Louisa May Alcott

Bibliography

Austen, Jane. Emma. Oxford, Oxford UP, 2022.

Bartlett, Nora. Jane Austen : Reflections of a Reader, edited by Jane Stabler, Open Book Publishers, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/oxford/detail.action?docID=6475844.

Cowley, Katherine. “The Justified Fear of Snow in Jane Austen’s ‘Emma.’” Jane Austen’s World, 20 Feb. 2022, janeaustensworld.com/2022/02/20/the-justified-fear-of-snow-in-jane-austens-emma/. Accessed 9 Nov. 2024.

Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol: a facsimile of the manuscript in the Pierpont Morgan Library. New York, James H. Heineman, Inc, 1967.

Dickinson, Emily. “It sifts from Leaden Sieves -.” Emily Dickinson’s Poems: As She Preserved Them, edited by Cristanne Miller, Harvard UP, 2016, p. 248.

Folsom, L. Edwin. “”The Souls That Snow”: Winter in the Poetry of Emily Dickinson.” American Literature, vol. 47, no. 3, 1975, pp. 361-376.

Frost, Robert. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Complete Poems of Robert Frost, Jonathan Cape, 1951, p. 250.

“Introduction.” Austen, Jane. Emma. Edited by Richard Cronin and Dorothy McMillan, Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 2005, pp. xxi–lxxiv.

Joyce, James. Dubliners. Oxford, Oxford UP, 2008

Kawabata, Yasunari. Snow Country. London, Penguin Books, 2011.

Montgomery, Maxine L. “Racial Armageddon: The Image of Apocalypse in Richard Wright’s “Native Son”.” CLA Journal, vol. 34, no. 4, 1991, pp. 453-466.

Saint-Amour, Paul K. “”Christmas Yet To Come”: Hospitality, Futurity, the Carol, and “The Dead”.” Representations, vol. 98, no. 1, 2007, pp. 93-117.

Vuong, Ocean. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. London, Vintage, 2020.

Wright, Richard. “Native Son.” Richard Wright Early Works: Lawd Today!, Uncle Tom’s Children, Native Son, New York, The Library of America, 1991, pp. 443-851.

Service Update: Michaelmas Term 2024

Introduction

The leaves are turning crisp, the morning are getting chilly , and the university is starting to see a new cohort incoming – Michaelmas term is officially about to begin! For those of you who are new to the English Faculty Library (hello! welcome!), we release these Service Updates at the beginning and end of every term to keep you abreast of what’s happening in the EFL. This will be especially important this academic year, as we’re getting prepared to move into the new Humanities Library in the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities next summer!

For now though, we’re keeping things classic for the start of term. So grab your KeepCup, your Bod card, and your bookmarks – and come on down to the English Faculty Library!

Bodleian Inductions

Bodleian Libraries Induction Webinars will be running from Wednesday-Friday of 0th week (9th-11th October). These inductions will cover how to use the library service, including:

  • The structure of the library service
  • Finding books using the library catalogue
  • Loaning and using books
  • Printing, copying, scanning, computers, and WiFi
  • Booking study rooms
  • Support for disabled students
  • Where to go for help if you need it

The webinar should be already scheduled into your induction timetables, but if you’d like a little more information you can have a nose at our Getting Started page.

English Faculty Library Tours

In addition to the central inductions, we’re also offering in-person library tours of the English Faculty Library. Each tour will last roughly 20 minutes, and will be led by a member of EFL staff. These will be offered throughout the day from Wednesday-Friday of 0th week (9th-11th October), every 30 minutes from 10am-11:30am and from 2pm-4:30pm.

These sessions are run on a drop-in basis – no booking required!

Library Displays: Handle With Care

Curated by Sophie Lay (Senior Library Assistant, Reader Services)

The Bodleian Oath is taken by all readers in the Bodleian Libraries, and it contains a promise not “to mark, deface, or injure in any way, any volume, document or other object belonging to it or in its custody”. This book display takes you on on a tour through not only some of the rule-breaking at the English Faculty Library, but some of the stories we can glean from damage in books, and how best to take care of library books as you use them.

If you’re interested in this topic, you may also want to check out the Book Marks display at the Weston Library!

Previous Display: James Baldwin, curated by Sophie Lay (Senior Library Assistant, Reader Services)

Opening Hours

We will soon be back in our term-time opening hours! As of Saturday 12th October, we will be open:

Monday – Friday: 9am – 7pm
Saturday: 10am – 1pm

Vacation Loans

All books that were borrowed for a vacation loan will be due back on Tuesday 15th October. These can be renewed as per the usual Bodleian rules (if they haven’t been requested by another reader and have been out for less than 112 days).

Contact Us

If you have any questions or need help with anything, our library staff will always be available during opening hours to speak with you.

You can also contact us via:

All our details can be found on the English Faculty Library webpage.

Book Review: Storyland and Wild by Amy Jeffs

By Annabel Brodersen

Interweaving literature, art and history, Amy Jeffs’ Storyland (2021) and Wild (2022) reimagine medieval literature through the ethereal, elemental lens of folklore. Jeffs’ mythologies are guided by fire-embodying deities, forgotten peace-weavers and shape-shifting mortals, all grounded within the elusive British landscape: land that keeps secrets of exile and yearning close to its wild heart.

Storyland

The book cover for Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain by Amy JeffsJeffs weaves into mythological tapestries with a striking voice, calling for a communion between humanity and nature, the medieval and the modern day. Mapping the legendary formation of England, Scotland and Wales from pre-history to the Norman Conquest, Jeffs’ Storyland is inspired by the history of Gildas, The Ruin of Britain, and Layamon’s Brut. It is also rooted in the mythological landscapes of Stonehenge, Tintagel, and the River Humber, Thames and Severn. Arthurian myth is re-embodied through the source material, as Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Life of Merlin and The History of the Kings of Britain inform Jeffs’ chapters on ‘The Deception at Tintagel’ and ‘The Death of Merlin’. Jeffs reimagines the Norse legendary figures ‘Weland the Smith’ and Woden, inspired by Bede’s The Ecclesiastical History of the English People and The Poetic Edda. Integrating academic research with creative reinterpretation, Jeffs elevates the meaning of her writing through art.

Storyland opens with a mythological map of Britain inside the front cover, where medieval cartography positions the human protagonists in time and space. Legendary characters transcend their human mortality through their longevity in the mythological imagination while, like ethereal spirits, they are contained within landscapes which can still be visited today. Jeffs expands the creative mythologies with anecdotal commentary from her own visits to historic sites, supported by academic research. These commentaries actively encourage the reader to be present in the physical landscapes as well as the imaginative landscapes within the books. Focalising the importance of storytelling and human community in Storyland, Jeffs concludes:

‘Today we live in an age in which ash trees do not spring up from our walking sticks, threats to our existence cannot be buried in mountains, and we cannot escape on wings. But perhaps there is still a place for prophecy. Learning, debating and growing, we will tell each other stories into the night. Our lives will encircle the sun, setting and rising, setting and rising.’ (p. 335)

Wild

While Storyland is illustrated with intricate relief linocut prints, Jeffs experiments with original wood engravings in Wild to reflect the natural landscape and isolated human characters within them. Carving lino-cut prints and wood engravings with her hands, Jeffs appreciates that the physical production of art and literature is a human labour of love.

The book cover for Wild: Tales from Early Medieval Britain by Amy JeffsIn Wild, Jeffs expands her creative scope to imagine stories surrounding medieval archaeological artefacts, specifically the Franks Casket and the Sutton Hoo ship burial. Imagining the journey of the Franks Casket from its whale-bone origins to the hands of its human owner, ‘The Mountain on my Back’ is an especially poignant interpretation. Here, the whale-voiced casket speaks to its owner Etheldreda in a dream, calling to return to the ‘abyss’ of the sea. (p. 92) Jeffs references the Old English Exeter Book poem ‘The Whale’ as inspiration for the reinterpretation. I am reminded of ‘The Dream of the Rood’, where the cross of the Christian crucifixion speaks of its transformation from tree to crucifix, through the combined medieval dream vision structure and the prosopopoeia of an object speaking. Jeffs weaves this structural form into the short story with creative originality and stylistic flare, while centring the importance of the casket as the key to Etheldreda’s freedom.

Jeffs’ ‘The Lament of Hos’ is a striking reimagining of ‘The Wife’s Lament’: a moving, stark condemnation of the violence enacted against the female speaker before her isolation. Inspired by the Old English elegy, the Franks Casket and ‘the presence of victims of execution in prehistoric barrows’ (from research by Sarah Semple and Andrew Reynolds, p. 38), Jeffs imagines the female speaker as a haunting presence, betrayed by her lover and condemned to burial in a barrow. This interpretation uses the theory that the ‘eorðscræfe’ (l. 28) is a grave, rather than an earthen cave for the living. Jeffs’ narrative shifts from the female speaker enclosed in the barrow, to moving into a landscape where she is reminded of her lover and the violence enacted towards her, and ultimately ends with her curse that demands justice.

Structured as a compilation rather than a chronology, Wild weaves mythological fragments into the form of a medieval manuscript: Jeffs’ lino-cut prints and wood engravings are scribal illustrations which elevate the overall reading experience. Jeffs’ creative reinterpretations introduce medieval literature (beyond the apparent canon of Beowulf or Chaucer) to public audiences, while providing a new critical interpretation of connections between medieval texts and artefacts for academic audiences. In her ‘Prologue’ to Wild, Jeffs reveals her wide-reaching intended audience:

‘I hope the stories’ accessibility will encourage the greatest number of readers towards the wonders of the primary sources, while keeping those sources alive in our culture by means of creative reinterpretation’ (p. 4).

Reimagining medieval literature preserves these mythologies in the public imagination, so that they can spark the imagination of readers for years to come.

To be inspired by medieval mythologies, read Wild and Storyland at the English Faculty Library! Both novels are available to borrow here:

Online Resources: James Baldwin

The 2nd August 2024 marks 100 years since the birth of James Baldwin: American writer and civil rights activist. In honour of the occasion, the English Faculty Library created a book display exploring his literary works. While the physical display in the library highlights his work within the English Faculty Library’s physical collections, we also want to showcase just a few of the many online resources related to this celebrated writer – both within the Bodleian Libraries and beyond.

Journal: James Baldwin Review

James Baldwin Review is a peer-reviewed, open access journal that publishes both critical and creative non-fiction on the life, writing, and legacy of James Baldwin. It began in 2015 and has been published annually since then. While some physical copies can be called up for consultation from the Bodleian’s storage facility, the entire journal is available online for free (and not just to university members – thank you, open access!). Follow the links on our SOLO record to peruse the contents at your leisure.

Digital Public Library of America: The Fire Next Time

A primary source set has been compiled by Samantha Gibson for the Digital Public Library of America which explores Baldwin’s Harlem upbringing and the context for the creation of The Fire Next Time (this book is featured in our physical display – if you fancy a peek!). This source set contains photographs, documents, and video recordings on life in Harlem, activism, and Baldwin himself. You can check out the full set on the DPLA website.

Chez Baldwin

This online exhibition was curated by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Chez Baldwin is, in its own words: “An Exploration of James Baldwin’s Life and Works Through the Powerful Lens of His House “Chez Baldwin” in St. Paul de Vence, France.” It contains stories of his locales, his activism, and his writing, as well as stories surrounding particular exhibition pieces (such as his passport, his inkwell, or his World Council of Churches guest badge). The exhibition also links through to a great list of James Baldwin Digital Resources – which helped us find the FBI Records kept on James Baldwin.

James Baldwin Photographs and Papers

The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University holds a collection of James Baldwin Photographs and Papers. The documents within the archive were created by Baldwin, but believed to be either discarded or forgotten – and rumoured to have been left behind after a publishing company moved out of their building. Some of these materials have been digitised and made available online, including early drafts of Go Tell it on the Mountain (the published version of which features in our physical display!) and some correspondence.

Archives of Sexuality and Gender

The Archives of Sexuality and Gender, hosted by Gale and accessible through the Bodleian Libraries, contain a lot of newspaper and periodical articles relating to James Baldwin. The coverage is quite broad, from obituaries, to reporting on talks Baldwin gave, to book reviews that celebrate his influence on  queer audiences. It’s a fascinating opportunity to look at the impact and reception of his work within the queer commmunity.

Ebooks at the Bodleian Libraries

Below are listed just a small smattering of the ebooks we have available through the Bodleian Libraries, exploring the life and works of James Baldwin.

Service Update: Long Vacation 2024

Introduction

Trinity Term is always a long one, with exams and coursework and unpredictable weather. Congratulations on making it through to the end of it! Whether you’re leaving Oxford for the summer and heading away for a well-earned rest, or making the most of the quiet to get some good reading time in, the library is here to help you out. Read on for updates on information for finalists, details of vacation loans, our library closure period, and more!

Information for Finalists

Loans: If you’re completing your course this year, please return items on loan before leaving Oxford and prior to the expiration of your University card.

Print, Copy and Scan (PCAS): If you’re leaving us this summer, do use up any remaining PCAS balance as it cannot be refunded. On request, credit can be transferred to another PCAS account. Please email pcas@bodleian.ox.ac.uk if you need assistance.

Becoming an Alum? As an Oxford alum you can take advantage of a number of benefits, including free access to the Bodleian Libraries and certain eresources. Learn more at the link: Getting started: Alumni | Bodleian Libraries

Persuing Further Oxford study? Oxford students who are finishing an undergraduate/postgraduate course and continuing into further postgraduate study at Oxford may be eligible to have a Returning Students Card, which includes borrowing rights over the summer between your courses. For more information about this, please get in contact with us using the contact details listed below.

Library Displays: Dambudzo Marechera

Curated by Dr Tinashe Mushakavanhu (Junior Research Fellow in African and Comparative Literature, St Anne’s College)

This term, we’ve highlighted a display that explores the life and works of Zimbabwean writer Dambudzo Marechera, whose time in Oxford produced great literature but was undeniably difficult. The display contains a combination of items from within the Bodleian’s collections and items from Dr Mushakavanhu’s own collection.

Previous Display: Literature in Translation, curated by Leah Brown (Graduate Trainee).
Upcoming Display: English Faculty Library Open Day

Vacation Loans

Vacation Loans for the Bodleian Libraries are in effect as of Monday 10th June. This means that any English Faculty Library Loans you borrow/renew after this date will not be due back until Tuesday 15th October (unless your library membership expires sooner – in which case, the due date will be the date of expiry).

This means you can take your loans home with you over the summer, without worrying that they’ll be called back to the library!

Please note: Loanable offsite items may or may not be eligible for vacation loaning. Ask at the desk for clarification when borrowing.

Opening Hours

The English Faculty Library will be transitioning to its Vacation Opening hours from Monday 17th June – Friday 11th October. The English Faculty Library will be open:

OPENING HOURS:
Monday – Friday
9am – 5pm

Fixed Closure Period

The English Faculty Library will be closed from:

CLOSURE PERIOD:
Monday 12th August – Monday 26th August (inclusive).

Contact Us

If you have any questions or need help with anything, our library staff will always be available during opening hours to speak with you.

You can also contact us via:

All our details can be found on the English Faculty Library webpage.

Service Update: Trinity Term 2024

Introduction

Who’s ready to get stuck in for the third and final term of the academic year? We at the library are ready for your arrival, so if you can make it through the April showers and find your way down to the EFL, we hope these regular service updates will to keep you in the know. Read on for collection updates, library displays, and more…

Collection Updates

Did you know that there are a lot of borrowable items in the Offsite Store? We’re in the process of sending some of our lesser-used books to the offsite storage, but fear not, you’ll still be able to call them up and take them home with you the very next day (usually)!

When requesting an item from the offsite storage, you have to select a delivery location. Use in Library only materials can be ordered to ‘Read at’ locations (which are coloured orange) – these allow you to read a book within a variety of different reading rooms. However, if you see lots green ‘Borrow from’ locations, you’ll be able to borrow the items – select one of these, and you’ll be able to take the item home with you!

Please note: Sometimes, only one green ‘borrow from’ location will appear. When you see this, this refers to an EFL copy which is currently out on loan. If you need the book in a hurry, this may not be your best option! If it’s ever unclear about what you’re ordering, please feel free to get in contact with us and we’ll do our best to help and explain. Our contact details are listed below.

A SOLO screenshot, showing orange 'Read At' delivery locations in a drop-down menu

‘Read at’ locations are shown in orange, and allow you to order in an offsite book to be read in the library.

A SOLO screenshot showing green 'borrow from' locations in a drop-down menu

‘Borrow from’ locations are shown in green, and allow you to order a book in from offsite to be borrowed at the library desk

Library Displays: Dambudzo Marechera

Curated by Dr Tinashe Mushakavanhu (Junior Research Fellow in African and Comparative Literature, St Anne’s College)

This display explores the life and works of Zimbabwean writer Dambudzo Marechera, whose time in Oxford produced great literature but was undeniably difficult. The display contains a combination of items from within the Bodleian’s collections and items from Dr Mushakavanhu’s own collection. The timing also coincides with the unveiling of a new portrait of Marechera at New College; Dr Mushakavanhu will also speak at its unveiling.

Previous Display: Literature in Translation, curated by Leah Brown (Graduate Trainee).
Upcoming Display: Women in Science Fiction, curated by Leah Brown (Graduate Trainee).

Opening Hours

With the new academic term, the library will be transitioning to its term-time opening hours. From Saturday 20th April – Saturday 15th June, the English Faculty Library will be open:

Monday – Friday
9am – 7pm

Saturday
10am – 1pm

Contact Us

If you have any questions or need help with anything, our library staff will always be available during opening hours to speak with you.

You can also contact us via:

  • Telephone: 01865 271050
  • Email: efl-enquiries@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
  • ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter): @EFLOxford

All our details can be found on the English Faculty Library webpage.

Final Words

Trinity Term is often rife with exams, deadlines, and the usual end-of-year stresses. If there’s anything that we can do at the library to make your studying, research, or reading any easier, please don’t hesitate to ask. If nothing else – we’ve always got desk space and free WiFi!

Service Update: Spring Vacation 2024

Introduction

Congratulations on making it through Hilary Term! Isn’t it nice to see the sun still up in the early evening? We hope you’ll be taking some well-earned rest this vacation – yes, even if you’re sticking around in Oxford. For those of you who will be making use of the libraries this vacation, we’ve got a few service updates to help you keep abreast of what’s changing in the library. Read on for collection updates, library displays, opening hours, and more!

Collection Updates: Catalogue Stand & Oversize Items

In preparation for our move the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities in 2025, we’re reorganising and reclassifying some parts of our collections. At the moment, these reorganisations are mainly happening in the Catalogue Stand and the Oversize section. E.g. What’s ‘oversize’ for the shelves here in the EFL, might not necessarily be ‘oversize’ for the new shelves in the new library!

While these sections are being reorganised, you may not find everything exactly where you’d expect to. If you’re struggling to find anything, don’t be afraid to ask a member of staff.

Library Display: Literature in Translation

Feel free to stop by the library and have a look at our latest display on Literature in Translation, curated by our very own Graduate Trainee, Leah Brown! This display follows a timeline of translations: from the Trojan War and its wide variety of classic and modern retellings, through to 21st Century writer Han Kang, whose Korean works have been translated into English and have resonated internationally.

Previous Display: LGBTQ+ History Month 2024, curated by Sophie Lay (Senior Library Assistant for Reader Services) in collaboration with the Oxford SU LGBTQ+ Campaign
Upcoming Display: Dambudzo Marechera, curated by Dr Tinashe Mushakavanhu (Junior Research Fellow in African and Comparative Literature, St Anne’s College)

Opening Hours

From Monday 11th March, we’ll be transitioning back to our vacation opening hours. The EFL will be open:

OPENING HOURS
Monday – Friday
9am – 5pm

Library Closure

The English Faculty Library will be closed for the duration of the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, from:

CLOSURE PERIOD
Friday 29th March – Monday 1st April (inclusive)

Vacation Loans

Vacation Loans have come into effect from Monday 4th March. This means that anything you borrow or renew on or after this date will be due for return in the first week of Trinity Term (starting 22nd April). These can then be renewed as per the usual Bodleian rules (unless they’ve been requested by another reader, or have been on loan for 112 days).

Contact Us

If you have any questions or need help with anything, our library staff will always be available during opening hours to speak with you.

You can also contact us via:

  • Telephone: 01865 271050
  • Email: efl-enquiries@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
  • ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter): @EFLOxford

All our details can be found on the English Faculty Library webpage.

Final Words

Whatever you’re needing this spring vacation – whether that’s the quiet study space to knuckle down or just a peaceful break – we hope you find it. And if there’s anything that we can do to make your studies or your research easier, don’t hesitate to get in contact.