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As you well know, Alex and I were the only two publishing students on that course. We did, however, share two modules with some of the English Literature course. These modules were based in the Archives, and we got to handle some of the books they keep.

The first module was set up like a normal English module; one lecture a week, essay at the end based on one of the topics covered, you know the type. It gave me a good basis for understanding books as objects and the relationships between the object, the content, and the context. I fell in love with the subject of paratext – I think that is a blog for another time, otherwise we both might be here for a while.

The second module was far more interesting – we got the opportunity to write a biography for one of the books they kept in the Archives. We looked into the history of the book, how it got to Bangor, information about the people who owned it, and other context that may prove interesting to the readers. The book that I chose was a bible where someone had written in the blank space around the printed text – the real reason I chose it was because, according to my lecturer, it was found in Bury, Suffolk, which is where my dad’s family is from. If you want to read more, go to my portfolio!

It was nice having other students to talk to during the lectures – Alex rarely showed up to any lectures, so sitting next to another student and talking about the work was refreshing. It was a nice little community, all sitting in the archives rooms, carefully flicking through the torn and weathered pages of the books we were studying. I wish we were in more modules together,, but I’m glad it’s something I got to experience.

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