Discussion: Brutal Adolescence
Print versionTwo novels from King’s Alumni James Miller & Ross Raisin
12.00-13.00, Friday 29 October 2010
Council Room, King’s Building, Strand Campus
Council Room, King’s Building, Strand Campus
In his awardwinning God’s Own Country (2008), Raisin takes on the voice of a Yorkshire youth who loses sight of the boundary between fantasy and reality, following his character’s descent into psychopathic violence. In Lost Boys (2008), Miller brings together terrorism in Iraq with the mundane but insidious cruelty of the English public school, suggesting there is a connection between individual and national violence.
Here Raisin and Miller will discuss the inspiration for their novels and consider the literary traditions behind their work. The discussion will open outward to consider the language of violence and to interrogate the relationship between psychological and political conflict.
Biographies
Ross Raisin received a degree in English in 2002 from King’s which was followed by a period as a trainee wine bar manager and a postgraduate degree in creative writing at Goldsmith’s College. Raisin’s debut novel God’s Own Country was published in 2008, and was shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. The novel was one of 6 finalists for the 2008 Dylan Thomas Prize for authors under the age of 30.
Dr James Miller read English at the University of Oxford and has a PhD from King’s College London in American Literature. He has published a number of academic articles about African-American literature, Civil Rights and the 1960s counter-culture. His debut novel, Lost Boys, caused widespread controversy and was one of Time Out's books of the year. Having taught at King's and Southbank university, James is currently senior lecturer in Creative Writing and English Literature at Kingston University. His second novel, Sunshine State, was published earlier this year by Little, Brown.
Dr James Miller read English at the University of Oxford and has a PhD from King’s College London in American Literature. He has published a number of academic articles about African-American literature, Civil Rights and the 1960s counter-culture. His debut novel, Lost Boys, caused widespread controversy and was one of Time Out's books of the year. Having taught at King's and Southbank university, James is currently senior lecturer in Creative Writing and English Literature at Kingston University. His second novel, Sunshine State, was published earlier this year by Little, Brown.
