For centuries, writers have come to London from across Europe. Their encounters with the city – squalid slums of the East End, in the glitter and glamour of Belgravia, in the unspoilt expanse of Hampstead Heath – have left a mark: on the writer, on their work and, sometimes, on London itself. The exhibition uncovers these literary traces, revealing London and a Europe of the imagination. It is based on an interactive online map curated by the UCL European Institute, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, and UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis. Come and explore London through thematically arranged texts in over 25 languages, as a place where people, cultures and languages meet and are transformed.
Registration via Eventbrite kindly requested. Link here.
The call from London: a sense of place, of European authors in the London culture landscape.
Join us for the opening of the Lost & Found literary exhibition, which reveals how European writers—arriving in London as guests, exiles, students, and wanderers—have long left their mark on the city and its literary imagination. A panel of academics, including Dr. Helen Palmer and Prof. Roger Lüdeke, from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf will offer a complementary perspective of how Londoners imagined “Europeans” from Shakespeare to Woolf, depicting them as rivals, exiles, comic types, or unsettling outsiders—from French fashions and Spanish Catholics to Italian lovers, Conrad’s exiles, and Woolf’s Lucrezia in Mrs Dalloway. The discussion will be moderated by Emily Grunert, director of the Literaturbüro NRW.
The event will be held in English and German.
Registration via Eventbrite kindly requested. Link here.
Students from the English and American Studies Department at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf will present their coursework as part of the Lost & Found: A European Literary Map of London exhibition. Their contributions range from live readings of poetry and creative writing to linguistic and literary analyses, exploring London and linking it to Düsseldorf through the perspectives of European and postcolonial writers and thinkers.
Registration via Eventbrite kindly requested. Link coming soon.
Join us for an inspiring evening of literature and dialogue! A celebrated author will share excerpts from their latest work, followed by a lively discussion about the themes, inspirations, and creative process behind their work.
A reading and conversation sponsored by the British Council.