The Writers’ Centre Norwich (WCN), the University of East Anglia and other bodies hold national and international literary festivals and events in the city all the year round. In 1970, thanks to the initiative of writer and academic Malcolm Bradbury (1932-2000), UEA became the first British university to introduce a Masters programme in Creative Writing whose graduates include many literary giants, such as, Rose Tremain (1943-), Ian McEwan (1948-) and the 2017 Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro (1954-). Because of these and other literary significances, in 2012, UNESCO declared Norwich a “City of Literature” and it is by far one of 28 such cities worldwide

Hasan, Md. Mahmudul

English

The International Islamic University Malaysia Repository

11/25/2019 Visiting Norwich, a UNESCO City of Literature | The Daily Starhttps://www.thedailystar.net/literature/news/visiting-norwich-unesco-city-literature-1825033?browserpush=true 1/8Md. Mahmudul HasanHome   Literature12:00 AM, November 09, 2019 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:47 AM, November 09, 2019Visiting Norwich, a UNESCO City ofLiterature1Monday,  November  25 ,  2019YOUR RIGHT TO KNOWShares11/25/2019 Visiting Norwich, a UNESCO City of Literature | The Daily Starhttps://www.thedailystar.net/literature/news/visiting-norwich-unesco-city-literature-1825033?browserpush=true 2/8In early September 2019, I made a weeklong trip to the UK to present conference papersat the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the University of EastAnglia (UEA). The programme schedule I received from the organisers of UEA stated thatthe three-day conference on Doris Lessing (1919-2013) would take place at the university’sJulian Study Centre (JSC). I became curious about the name of the conference venue.Upon arriving at the Julian Study Centre, I saw the adjacent building to the right namedthe Thomas Paine Study Centre that is home to the UEA Business School. I did not knowmuch about Julian, but was familiar with the British philosopher Thomas Paine (1737-1809).Norwich – where the University of East Anglia is located – is the first in England (and thesecond in the UK) to become a UNESCO City of Literature, followed by Nottingham andManchester. All these triggered my interest in UEA’s Julian Study Centre, Thomas PaineStudy Centre and the scenic city of Norwich.I knew Thomas Paine for his radical ideas and as a close associate of MaryWollstonecraft’s (1759-97) husband William Godwin (1756-1836). During my PhD years atthe University of Portsmouth, I researched the Enlightenment feminism of Wollstonecraftand examined Paine’s ideas to determine the extent of their influence on her. The FrenchRevolution (1789-1799) and Paine’s Rights of Man (1791) influenced Wollstonecraft’sfeminist arguments that she articulated in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792).Paine’s Common Sense (1776) inspired the call for American independence from Britishcolonial rule.One year after the French Revolution started, the Anglo-Irish politician Edmund Burkewrote Reflections (1790) in the form of political letter writing to denounce the Revolutionand to promote “a defence of property, religion, and traditional values”. Burke actuallyoffered “a remarkably prescient view of the chaos that lay ahead” of the FrenchRevolution. He defended the French monarchy and regarded the Revolution as “a terriblemistake”.Paine wrote Rights of Man as a reply to Burke’s Reflections and to defend the Revolution.His opposition to the French monarchy was perceived as an implicit attack on themonarchy in Britain. This is because Paine asserted that people should have the right tochoose their government whose key role is to protect them and their rights.For his dissenting views, Paine faced sedition charges. He fled to France, was tried inabsentia and sentenced to capital punishment. He lived in France and the United States11/25/2019 Visiting Norwich, a UNESCO City of Literature | The Daily Starhttps://www.thedailystar.net/literature/news/visiting-norwich-unesco-city-literature-1825033?browserpush=true 3/8and never returned to England. Another radical intellectual Thomas Spence (1750-1814)was arrested – though not prosecuted – for selling copies of Rights of Man.Paine was born in Thetford in Norfolk; and the University of East Anglia is located on theoutskirts of the county’s main city, Norwich. This explains the nomenclature of theThomas Paine Study Centre at UEA.What about the Julian Study Centre? I embarked on researching the question.A contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400), Julian of Norwich (1342-1416) was avisionary and theologian. She is “the first English woman of letters” – despite herdisclaimer that she is a “symple creature vnlettyrde [unlettered]” – and the first woman topublish a book in the English language. A classic of the spiritual life, her XVI Revelationsof Divine Love (1395) is a book of visions and epiphanies. She wrote its short version rightafter she supposedly had heavenly visions on 8 May 1373 night and the long one, roughlytwenty years later. While Revelations is the first book written by a woman in England,Anne Bradstreet’s The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America (1650) is the firstpublished work of a woman in the United States.My research on Julian led me to visit St. Julian’s Church in Norwich and the Julian Centrethat is next to it and dedicated to her works. As an anchoress, she lived a reclusive life inthe enclosed quarters of this church and thus came to be known as Julian. Her actualname is still unknown.T. S. Eliot (1888-1965) came across Julian’s theodicy during his Harvard years throughEvelyn Underhill’s book Mysticism (1911). He alludes to Julian in Murder in the Cathedral(1935) and Four Quartets (1943). In “Burnt Norton” – one of the four poems in FourQuartets – Eliot says, “Except for the point, the still point, / There would be no dance andthere is only the dance” (ll.20-21). This is an allusion to Julian’s statement: “I saw God in apoint by which vision I understood that He is in all things.” Victorian poet RobertBrowning’s oft-quoted statement in his verse drama “Pippa Passes” (1841), “God’s in hisheaven – / All’s right with the world!” echoes Julian’s devotional optimism: “All shall bewell, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”Her message of hope and trust in God’s “compassionate love” proved useful, as during herlifetime people of Norwich suffered from plague, poverty and famine. As a “spiritualcounsellor”, she must have “counselled a lot of people in pain”. Interestingly, shecompared mothers’ love and care for children to God’s grace for all humans, stating: “Tothe property of motherhood belongs nature, love, wisdom, and knowing – and this isGod.” It is believed that Julian highly influenced the mystical orientation of postmodern11/25/2019 Visiting Norwich, a UNESCO City of Literature | The Daily Starhttps://www.thedailystar.net/literature/news/visiting-norwich-unesco-city-literature-1825033?browserpush=true 4/8women writers such as Iris Murdoch (1919-99), Denise Levertov (1923-97) and AnnieDillard (1945-).Apart from owning the first published woman writer in English, Norwich’s literary legacyclaims some important sites and landmarks. My literary exploration brought me to theJohn Jarrold Printing Museum in the city’s Whitefriars area. It traces the history of anineteenth-century printing firm that John Jarrold II (1773-1853) set up in Dallinghoo,Suffolk in 1815 and was moved to Norwich in 1823. John Jarrold is a pioneering figure inthe British printing industry.One literary-historical landmark in Norwich is the Rosary Cemetery (est. 1819) where anumber of prominent writers are buried. They include the 1932 Nobel literature laureateJohn Galsworthy (1867-1933) who was married to a woman of Norwich and artist LeslieDavenport (1905-73), a member of the Norwich Twenty Group (est. 1944) – named sobecause its membership was originally restricted to twenty artists.My visit to the stupendous Norwich Cathedral and exploring its literary connections gaveme fascinating insights. In 1420, its Erpingham Gate was constructed by ThomasErpingham (1355-1428) who is immortalised as a character in Shakespeare’s historicalplay Henry V (1599). The author of Fiue Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie (1557),Thomas Tusser worked for the cathedral as a lay clerk. Poet and clergyman RichardCorbet (1582-1635) was bishop of Norwich Cathedral, and poet Henry Charles Beeching(1859-1919) was its dean. The character Leo Colston in L. P. Hartley’s novel The Go-Between (1953) visits places in Norwich, including the cathedral. The enclosed placesurrounding the cathedral features in John Gordon’s fantasy fiction The Giant under theSnow (1968).From the cathedral, I walked to Norwich Castle (est. 1066). Now a museum and art gallery,this Romanesque structure is the cornerstone of Norwich city centre. It is a popular site ofliterary exhibitions and has important historical significance.The Writers’ Centre Norwich (WCN), the University of East Anglia and other bodies holdnational and international literary festivals and events in the city all the year round. In1970, thanks to the initiative of writer and academic Malcolm Bradbury (1932-2000), UEAbecame the first British university to introduce a Masters programme in Creative Writingwhose graduates include many literary giants, such as, Rose Tremain (1943-), Ian McEwan(1948-) and the 2017 Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro (1954-).Because of these and other literary significances, in 2012, UNESCO declared Norwich a“City of Literature” and it is by far one of 28 such cities worldwide.11/25/2019 Visiting Norwich, a UNESCO City of Literature | The Daily Starhttps://www.thedailystar.net/literature/news/visiting-norwich-unesco-city-literature-1825033?browserpush=true 5/8Grameenphone:Type START <space> BR and send SMS it to 22222Robi:Type START <space> BR and send SMS it to 2222LEAVE YOUR COMMENTSTOP NEWSOn a final note, when discovering the literary richness of Norwich and writing this essay, Ithought of various places in our country whose literary significance is largely unexplored.There are certainly many Norwiches in Bangladesh, which literary scholars and activistsneed to explore, preserve and promote.Note: I am grateful to my hosts in Norwich – Aahil, Aisha and their parents. Md. Mahmudul Hasan teaches English literature at International Islamic UniversityMalaysia.Stay updated on the go with The Daily Star Android & iOS News App. Click here todownload it for your device.The Daily Star Breaking news alert on your phoneBanglalink:Type START <space> BR and send SMS it to 2225Find more information on SMS subscriptionCOMMENT POLICYChecking Road Accidents: Long wait for effective steps0 Comments Sort by Facebook Comments PluginNewestAdd a comment...11/25/2019 Visiting Norwich, a UNESCO City of Literature | The Daily Starhttps://www.thedailystar.net/literature/news/visiting-norwich-unesco-city-literature-1825033?browserpush=true 6/8MORE FROM LITERATUREDhaka Translation Fest Declaration, 2019Yet another disastrous Test seriesOnion prices spike, so do vegetables’Credit Card Transactions Abroad: BB revokes rules on prior approvalLife-saving Antibiotics: Bacteria become more resistantBtrc Audit Claim: SC asks GP to pay Tk 2,000crVIEW MORELATEST FROM STAR LIVE11/25/2019 Visiting Norwich, a UNESCO City of Literature | The Daily Starhttps://www.thedailystar.net/literature/news/visiting-norwich-unesco-city-literature-1825033?browserpush=true 7/8Nisho’s PursuitsLife-saving Antibiotics: Bacteria become more resistant11/25/2019 Visiting Norwich, a UNESCO City of Literature | The Daily Starhttps://www.thedailystar.net/literature/news/visiting-norwich-unesco-city-literature-1825033?browserpush=true 8/8

Visiting Norwich, a UNESCO City of literature

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Visiting Norwich, a UNESCO City of literature

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