Update on 10/09/25: CERG are very excited to announce the final programme for the Wild Essex Imaginarium on Sat 27th September 2025, hosted by the Essex Business School (EBS) at the University of Essex, Colchester. EBS: 2.2 (Auditorium next to main entrance)
Final Programme (pdf)
We are pleased to confirm that the event is free to all (registration required)
Guest speakers and performances include:
Mona Arshi & Karen McCarthy Woolf, Alien (Music), Lora Aziz, David Gates (Beth Chatto), Steve Waters (UEA), Emma Howe (Minories Colchester), Justin Hooper, Jessica Pearce, Thomas Cameron (University of Essex) – With a Keynote by Ken Worpole and interview with Tim Burrows
Writer & social historian, Ken Worpole explores a unique ‘region of the mind‘ – the Thames Estuary and the marshland landscapes of the East Anglian shoreline.
There has been a welcome surge of nature writing in recent years. Yet this has raised questions as to whose voices are privileged and heard in a space predominantly occupied by Western European traditions and authors. In Nature Matters, poets Mona Arshi and Karen McCarthy Woolf seek to redress this imbalance.
Steve Waters is a writer for stage, radio and screen. He is also very involved in the new playwriting scene. Steve has written about the pedagogy of playwriting and the nature of plays. He has been a participant in shaping arts policy for new playwrights.
With Rich Yates (Essex Wildlife Trust) & Emma Howe (Director of The Minories Art Hub)
Directions: The train journey from Liverpool Street to Colchester and Colchester Town takes just under an hour and you can get a bus or taxi from the station to us. The nearest station to EBS is Hythe (Essex) which is a 15-20-minute walk from campus (see below). Check train services to this station.
Essex Business School, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ – Next to Entrance 4.
We will be in the Essex Business School (EBS). EBS 2.2. The Auditorium
Event organisers: The Cultural Engine Research Group: Giles Tofield, Tony Sampson, Andrew Branch, Simon Poulter, Jos Smith and Sean Mcloughlin.