Poetry, Prophecy and The Book of Jonah

Luke Kennard started working at the University of Birmingham in 2008, as one of two lecturers in Creative Writing, and has since seen the team grow into a department he’s been grateful to be a part of for the majority of his life as a writer.

In his inaugural lecture Luke will discuss some of the research and thinking (from theology to cultural theory to giant fish) that led to his 7th poetry collection, The Book of Jonah, published by Picador in 2025.

What are the uneasy connections between prophetic speech and poetic outpouring? Between the sacred and the absurd? When we write in response to existing texts, canonical works and lore, what are our responsibilities to the source? And, in the case of Jonah, what are its responsibilities to us?

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Host or Publisher University of Birmingham