Talking Tragedies and 'Bookhood' with Professor Emma Smith

As the third and final instalment of the mini York Literature Festival this Autumn, St Peter’s hosted Professor Emma Smith in conversation with Rob O’Connor. In this evening lecture, Emma discuses ‘bookhood’, which means ‘the state or condition of being a book’ and is a definition which is referred to abundantly throughout her own work.

With a small bookshop station set up by Fox Lane Books, and complimentary refreshments available, the audience gathered for an intimate event with Emma Smith about the Portable Magic of books. Reading the introduction from her latest work on a Kindle, Smith poked fun at the paradox between the importance of both physical books and e-books.

Having grown up in Leeds, she began her own literature journey at Bramley Library, discovering the wonders of reading. She argues that the book is a material talisman and holds a uniquely portable magic as an object which holds agency and power in the real world. Books can feel irrationally important, with acts such as folding down the corner of a page being condemned by passionate book worms. Books also hold a religious significance, with Islam, Christianity and Judaism viewing their book with the upmost importance. More recently, the “Shelf-ie” has caught the attention of the internet. With online interviews and calls, the books displayed behind a person have been analysed closely.

Earlier in the day, Emma Smith offered a Shakespeare Seminar to GCSE and Sixth Form students. A professor in Shakespeare Studies at Hertford College in Oxford, she offered her expertise for students with upcoming exams in Shakespeare’s plays. Pupils from St Peter’s, All Saints and Bootham school enjoyed the chance to ask their own burning questions.

Portable Magic offers a history of reading, the magic behind books and why they are so important. Emma’s book can be purchased here, with other titles such as Sunday Times bestseller This is Shakespeare and Shakespeare’s First Fold also available from Fox Lane Books.