In our new blog series on 'Lockdown Fantasies', our Principal Investigator Barbara Taylor shows how pandemical solitude can play on the imagination.

We explore nature, in the Cairngorms and beyond, in our latest post, as Di Beddow introduces us to the mountain landscapes of Nan Shepherd's writing and suggests how nature might enhance and sweeten solitude.

Rachel Long speaks to Akshi Singh about inspirational women writers, poetry collectives, and writing as a way of being alone, before reading from her Forward-prize nominated collection 'My Darling From the Lions'. This conversation was filmed during the second COVID-19 lockdown in England and is followed by Akshi's reflections on Rachel's poetry.

Anna Harpin and Susie Riddell from theatre company Idiot Child explore experiences of lockdown solitude in this short film created for our project.

In this post, Nisha Ramayya shares some of the things that have made lockdown feel less lonely and helped her to consider loneliness differently.

Susheila Nasta and Hetta Howes discuss Sam Selvon’s 1956 novel 'The Lonely Londoners' and its themes of loneliness, race and the city explored through the lives of Windrush migrants in 1950s Britain.  The discussion took place as part of our 'Spaces of Solitude' podcast series and features in Episode Four, which explores classic ideas of loneliness and the many ways of being alone in a city.

Our Principal Investigator Barbara Taylor explores the mysteries and joys of erotic companionship between a lone woman and a bear, in this reading of Marian Engel's award-winning novel 'Bear'.

During the UK's first period of lockdown, our project began to form an archive of written testimonies about how the pandemic has affected people's experiences of solitude. In the last of three blog posts, members of the public reflect on the positive elements they have found in their lockdown lives.

During the UK's first period of lockdown, our project began to form an archive of written testimonies about how the pandemic has affected people's experiences of solitude. In the second of three blog posts, members of the public reflect on the possibilities and impossibilities of solitude in family life.

During the UK's first period of lockdown, our project began to form an archive of written testimonies about how the pandemic has affected people's experiences of solitude. In this first of three blog posts, members of the public reflect on physical isolation during and after lockdown.