May Day myth at St Andrews

Renowned novelist and mythographer Marina Warner will give a lecture and host a booksigning session at the University of St Andrews this week (Thursday 1st May, 2003).

Warner, who is an honorary fellow of the University of St Andrews School of English, will speak on ‘Metamorphosis: Soul Theft and Spirit Wanderings’ in School III, St Salvator’s Quad at 6pm. All members of the university and of the general public are welcome to attend.

Warner’s remarkable work on myth includes insights into mermaids, magicians, and murderers and the cross-cultural significance of the imagery of folktale and legend from Classical literature to the present day. Her most recent academic study, Fantastic Metamorphoses, Other Worlds: Ways of Telling the Self was published by Oxford University Press in 2002. Warner also recently selected and curated an exhibition on the theme of ‘Metamorphing’ at the London Science Museum.

When not unpicking myths, Marina Warner is a highly successful weaver of tales herself. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, she has been the winner of numerous awards for her writing for adults and children. Reviewers have described her latest novel, The Leto Bundle, as ‘a compelling and erudite meditation on exiles, refugees, loss and the search for a home’, which communicates a ‘kaleidoscope of cultures, tribes and nationalities’.

May Day, which has so many associations with folklore and magic, seems an appropriate time to welcome a speaker whose work is both hugely erudite and grounded in the creativity of the popular imagination over many ages and lands. The School of English hopes for a large turn out to welcome Marina Warner and to enjoy her lecture.

ENDS

Issued by Beattie Media On behalf of the University of St Andrews Contact Gayle Cook on 01334 467227, mobile 07900 050103, or email [email protected] Ref: Marina Warner pr 290403 View the latest University news at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk