Kei Miller at Edinburgh International Book Festival 2021

The Open University in Scotland is pleased to support the Kei Miller: Silence is Violence event as part of the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2021. 

A few years ago, when asked what he sees when he looks at a map, Kei Miller answered ‘I see the things that aren’t there... maps are always interesting to me for what’s left out’.

These gaps and omissions were a key part of the celebrated poet and novelist’s Forward Prize-winning collection, The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion.

Now he has collected together a series of essays, Things I Have Withheld, which examine the ways power can create silences, blind spots and cause stories to remain untold. Miller believes that mapping is basically a metaphor for language: his writing seems to stand in the silences, to fill in the gaps. In his new book, the essays include letters to James Baldwin and encounters with Liam Neeson, as well as pieces written while on the road as part of the Book Festival’s Outriders Africa venture, just before the pandemic hit.

Join Miller for a fascinating look at how the seemingly unsayable can often leave space for everyday acts of racism and prejudice.

Book via the Edinburgh Book Festival website. This is a live event, with an author Q&A. If buying a ticket to watch the event in-person, the author will take part remotely and you’ll see them on a large screen in the venue. Or choose to pay what you can and book your spot to watch the event online. 

There's a wide range of free online learning to explore on the OU’s site OpenLearn. Resources include the short courses 'Writing what you know' and 'What is poetry?', plus a 'Race and Ethnicity Hub', which offers fresh perspectives on race, racism and ethnicity through free courses, articles and videos.  

The OU also offers creative writing courses and qualifications, such as the modules Creative Writing and Advanced Creative Writing, a BA (Honours) English Literature and Creative Writing, and an MA in Creative Writing.