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| Welcome to another issue of Literature Matters, the British Council’s online literary magazine that explores all that is good, exciting and intriguing about Brit lit. In this issue we’re focusing particularly on all that is good, exciting and intriguing about the connection between Brit lit and sport. Poet Sarah Wardle explores the points where football and literature meet, highlighting how poetry and fiction have intersected with the great British game over recent years, while journalist and novelist Will Buckley has his own personal spin on how football affects our lives. Veteran sports writer Hunter Davies discusses the legacy of footballing biographies and Ian McMillan and Jim Sells write about projects that are using football to inspire young writers. So far – so football! But it’s not all about soccer – honest: Journalist Kevin Mitchell offers a round-up of British sports journalism, exploring the highs and lows of the current scene; novelist Tim Parks looks at the how sport can bring tension to fiction; Simon Kuper explores sport and class and Liz Crolley looks at the place of women in sports writing. 'Writers Talk Books' features writers who have touched upon sport in their work and our British Council highlight this issue features a football project that recently took place in Berlin. Our other regular 'Plat du Jour' offers up an alternative Man Booker long list – the ones that got away; and for those who have had enough of all things sporty by then, you may be pleased to know that there’s not a footballing, cricket, rugby or fishing book amongst them! |
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January 2006 Editor: Catriona Ferguson |
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| Will Buckley and Sarah Wardle are both keen football fans and here explore this great British obsession. Will talks about how it is reflected in our literature generally while Sarah takes on football, poetry and fiction. |
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| Sports journalism in the UK is in a great state. The broadsheets are producing their own supplements, the tabloids have some fantastic writers and even the fanzines are going strong. Kevin Mitchell looks at exactly where it's at. Meanwhile Hunter Davies offers an overview of footballing biographies and how they have changed over the years. |
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| Although some may argue that sport and politics aren’t a comfortable mix, in the end it’s hard to keep the two separate. Simon Kuper examines the ties that bind literature, politics and sport while Liz Crolley explores issues around women in sports writing. |
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| Poet Ian McMillan had an inspired idea and talked Barnsley Football Club into helping him to achieve his goal. Here he talks about being the first poet-in-residence at a British football club. |
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| Jim Sells from the Literacy Trust is manager of the Reading the Game project that aims to get young people into books through their love of football. Further details of that initiative can be found here. |
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| Tim Parks has written on sport in both his fiction and non-fiction. Here he explores the dramatic impact of sporting thrills and spills in literature. |
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| The British Council in Germany recently ran a project profiling football and literature. Here, British Council organiser Marijke Brouwer talks about the impact of this stunning event while writer Chris Dolan explains what it all meant to him. |
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| Our regular feature where some of our favourite writers talk about what they’ve been reading. This edition includes authors with a connection to sport. Novelists Chris Cleave and Donna Daley-Clarke feature alongside biographer Miranda Seyour and memoir writer Gary Imlach. |
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