Helena Peacock

As a result of the generous support of the James Pantyfedwen foundation I was able to pursue a Masters’ degree in English literature at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. The course was incredibly varied and allowed me to pursue my interests in a number of directions, studying theories of embodiment in contemporary poetry, real and imagined spaces in fin de siècle travel writing and evidence of textual/visual collaboration in the archives of small art presses. 

I was also able to spend the year developing my thesis project which studied the work and archives of Sylvia Townsend Warner, investigating the ways in which she might ask us to consider useless and strange objects as a locus for sexual and political radicalism. The support of the Foundation was particularly helpful in this respect, as my project involved a number of trips to archives in order to view the unruly objects about which I wished to write.

Since finishing my degree, I have put the skills and experiences I gained into practice working as a researcher and ghost-writer on a book project which narrates the story of a family and community of Indian merchants in colonial East Africa. I hope in the future to continue to work within the literary/publishing industries and perhaps to pursue further academic study in the years to come.

I am incredibly grateful for the generous support which the foundation gave me in financing my postgraduate degree.