About the Project
The English Department has teamed up with Collective Encounters, a company who use theatre for social change, to create Voices on the Streets, a sound journey that you can download to your phone and use to explore the city.
At each stop on the tour you can listen to stories and poems created by community groups in the city. These were inspired by departmental research into the places, people, literature and history of Liverpool, including themes such as migration, food, Scouse identity, education and the environment.
How to access Voices on the Streets:
- Download the Sound Journey via the Echoes app
- Guide for Downloading the Echoes App
Read more about the English Department’s research into the topics explored in Voices on the Streets
Liverpool in Literature
From The Beatles and The Boys from the Blackstuff to Malcolm Lowry and Beryl Bainbridge, Liverpool has a rich literary and artistic history. Researchers in our department work on figures ranging from 18th-century abolitionist poetry to Roger McGough. We collaborate closely with the University’s Special Collections, who host the archives of the ‘Mersey Sound’ poets, including McGough, Adrian Henri and Brian Patten, and the world-leading Science Fiction Foundation collection, home to writers associated with the city such as Olaf Stapledon and Brian Aldiss. We also host the Northern Voices Research Cluster and run one of the leading national poetry imprints, Pavilion Poetry.
To find out more about our work on and with Northern writers, contact Dr Alex Broadhead: A.Broadhead@liverpool.ac.uk
Literature and the Environment
As a department we are interested in how people across time have communicated about nature and the environment. Our research in this area includes academics working on solar energy, poetry and environmental crisis and historical conceptions of nature. We’ve done work in schools and theatres, and at Tate Liverpool, about public perceptions of nature, energy and ecology, and have worked with the NHS and the Playhouse Theatre on projects based around nature-writing for wellbeing. Most of our researchers in this area are associated with the Literature and Science Hub and the Centre for Health, Arts, Society and Environment (CHASE).
To find out more about our work on the relationships between literature, science and environment, contact Dr Sam Solnick: S.Solnick@liverpool.ac.uk
Migration, Race and Community
Liverpool is a demographically and culturally diverse city with a unique cultural identity, distinct from the rest of the UK. This is partly due to its challenging history: its boom years were entwined with colonialism and the Triangular Trade in the 18th and 19th centuries, and post-industrial decline in the late 20th century brought economic and social challenges. Research in the department speaks to the complex history and vibrant present-day of the city. Projects include work with Liverpool’s Chinese community, research on local linguistic and educational challenges, regional speech, race and British poetry, community graphic storytelling, the local role of the arts during the pandemic, and the history of migrant letters.
To find out more, contact Dr Lucienne Loh: L.Loh@liverpool.ac.uk
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