Overview
Welcome to the fifteenth edition of Route 57, and the fifth in print. Happy anniversary to us! Each year, students, staff, and alumni from the University of Sheffield bring you exceptional fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama. All funds raised go straight back into making next year's issue, and the expansion of the creative communities of the University. This year we are delighted to showcase our joint project with The Hepworth Wakefield. Issue 15 of Route 57 takes inspiration from the exhibition at The Hepworth, ‘Modern Nature’, to explore the relationships between the urban environments and the natural world.
Environs: Modern Natures
To environ is to surround, skirt, compass; to enclose, encircle or circuit. But it is also to consider what environs us, the borders and breachings of layers of atmosphere, “green belt”, the hinterlands of ecological resilience and/or biodiversity decline. This special issue wagers that the environs of the present might also be generative. As heatwaves in February and springtime snowstorms force us all to rethink meteorology, the contributors to Route 57 re-interrogate the place of the human within 'modern natures'.
The book contains place-writing stimulated by the place(s) of modern natures, bringing these local and global understandings together. Its content ranges from the local environs of Sheffield street trees and interstices of our towns and cities, to the climate politics of our global environs, plastic pollution, and the ambivalence of industrial heritage. Inside you will find, among other things: re-wilding & the fabrication of the 'rural'; The Brontës; Leeds and Sheffield psychogeography; the Great Pacific Garbage Patch; dark ornithology; Sheffield steel; scarecrows; The River Don; mushrooms, spiders, foxes; pears & street trees.
What is more, this hand-made book is printed using authentically grainy risograph technology, a printing method that is much greener than conventional printing: riso ink is river-friendly, and it uses much less energy per page than a conventional laser printer.
Why should you support us?
We believe strongly in supporting and facilitating accessible art, and in encouraging creative and critical debate around environmental issues. Our goal is to introduce poets, authors, artists, dramatists and critics to a wider audience. Central to Sheffield is its influential creative writing scene and our publication shines a light on some of the sensational literary talent this city has to offer. Get a copy of issue 15 and you are ensuring that new writers are supported in Sheffield. This year, we took that ethos of creative collaboration even further, through partnership with The Hepworth. We were also fortunate to have the issue designed by the exceptionally talented book artist Abi Goodman (Sheffield Creative Guild) and printed on risograph by Footprint Workers Co-Op, Leeds. Environs really is an object that connects a lot of creative people and places, both within Sheffield and Yorkshire. Support the arts locally by buying a copy!
How to support us:
On our fifteenth birthday, please help us celebrate by making a contribution. All donations will ensure that Route 57 continues to be able to nurture and promote the range of literary talent present in Sheffield. However, you don’t need to buy a copy to help us out. Support our campaign by spreading the word on social media or by sharing this page.
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