Excursion to the National English Literary Museum

Masters and Honours students recently had the opportunity to undertake a tour of the National English Literary Museum in Grahamstown. The trip, which was sponsored by the department, saw students searching the databases and archives of NELM for primary and secondary material to further their research.

Students also attended a presentation by respected scholar Prof. Mike Marais on publishing postgraduate research.

Staff, honours and masters students

Staff, honours and masters students pose in front of ‘art’ on Rhodes Campus during their trip to Grahamstown.

Sharp! A Creative Journal

Ms. Sisi Maqagi

Ms. Sisi Maqagi, a member of the English department, reads from Sharp! at the launch party for the 2007edition.

The department oversees the publication of an annually-published multi-generic and multilingual journal called Sharp! This glossy colour publication includes fine art, graphic art, photography, poetry, short fiction as well as play and film scripts. It began life as an in-house project within the English department at NMMU and was co-founded by Peter Anderson, Mary West and Max Rayneard. It has grown over the years and now will have its own website as well as special editions dedicated to regional artists.

Published writers and professional artists have contributed to the journal. The annual edition of Sharp! is marked by a multimedia event where dance and poetry performances often take place alongside exhibitions of artwork.

Please contact Dr. Mary West (mary.west@nmmu.ac.za) for further information and for submissions.