UPDATE: This event has been rescheduled from the original date of Thursday 16th March. We will be in touch with ticket holders as soon as possible regarding your existing booking.
Rough Trade Books Presents… is a new series of events exploring contemporary topics in an atmosphere of idea exchange, conversation, and connection. Brought to you by Exeter UNESCO City of Literature, Devon & Exeter Institution, and Rough Trade Books.
For the second event in this series, Rough Trade Books author and journalist Zakiya McKenzie will be in conversation with researcher and campaigner Lewis Winks. They will be discussing land ownership, the effects of colonization and capitalism on the natural environment, and nature writing in the South West.
If a BSL interpreter would make this event accessible to you, please contact us and we will provide one.
Cost: Pay What You Can Afford
Bookbag bookshop will be selling books at DEI before and after the event.
Zakiya McKenzie is a PhD candidate with the Leverhulme Trust-supported Caribbean Literary Heritage project at the University of Exeter researching Black British journalism in the post-war period. Zakiya is a writer and storyteller and was the 2019 writer-in-residence for Forestry England during its centenary year. In Bristol, she was 2017 Black and Green Ambassador and is a volunteer at Ujima Community Radio station. She regularly leads nature, art and writing workshops, including one on Caribbean storytelling for primary schools.
Her work has featured at the Cabot Institute for the Environment at the University of Bristol, the Institute for Modern Languages Research at the University of London, the Hepworth Wakefield Gallery, the Free Word Centre, at Cheltenham Literature Festival, on BBC’s Woman’s Hour, Farming Today and Inside Out West. She has written for Smallwoods Magazine, the Willowherb Review and BBC Wildlife Magazine.
Lewis Winks is a researcher, educator and campaigner with an interest in cultural and social transformation, environmental advocacy and rights of access to the countryside. His research spans environmental education, outdoor learning and eco-anxiety. He works with Right to Roam campaigning and advocating for a greater and more equitable access to nature.
Accessibility Statement: The Institution is committed to improving its accessibility, and we welcome all visitors to our public events. However, we are transparent about the access limitations that the size, location, and historic nature of the building can occasion, and readily acknowledge that we are in a period of transition.
The main entrance to the DEI, (facing the Cathedral), has double doors, and is accessible for most wheelchairs. From this entrance there is level access to the foyer, and to the inner and outer libraries. We apologise for the current lack of lift access to the South Range rooms on the second floor.
As we are a small building, parking is limited, but a space can be pre-booked by contacting the office by phone: 01392 274727, or by email: office@devonandexeterinstitution.org. Priority will be given to blue badge holders. The side door into the inner library should be accessible for most wheelchair users reaching the DEI from the driveway, or the front entrance can be reached through the side door at the end of the driveway. Please do contact us if you have any further questions about your route into the DEI.
There are toilets on site, though the nearest fully accessible Changing Places toilet can be found in the Princesshay Shopping Centre, at the back of Nationwide.
The library is usually a quiet space, though can be louder during events. A timetable for events can be found on the website. If you require a quieter space, please ask a member of staff.
If sounded, the fire alarm makes a repeated sound of two tones, and flashing lights will go off in the reading room and the toilets. On an ordinary day, ringing phones and door buzzers might also be heard.
Lighting is soft throughout the building, and may be low in certain areas. Assistance dogs are welcome, and staff will be happy to provide water for your dog.