{"id":602,"date":"2019-04-03T15:02:50","date_gmt":"2019-04-03T14:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/?p=602"},"modified":"2019-04-03T15:02:50","modified_gmt":"2019-04-03T14:02:50","slug":"a-fresher-at-fifty-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/a-fresher-at-fifty-5\/","title":{"rendered":"A Fresher at Fifty"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Occasional Diary of a Mature Postgraduate Student at Newcastle University\u2019s Children\u2019s Literature Unit<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Jennifer Shelley<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Episode Five<\/strong><\/p>\n

From Fresher at Fifty to Graduate at 52<\/strong><\/p>\n

The peacocks are quite possibly the most vivid memory from my first graduation. Back in the summer of 1988, we had lunch in Edinburgh\u2019s Prestonfield House Hotel, where the savvy waiters hovered refilling glasses of red wine with the tempting mantra \u2018you deserve it\u2019. It\u2019s hardly surprising that when we finished eating, and repaired to the garden for some photographs, this new graduate was spotted crawling along the grass trying to persuade the showy birds to play bonnie for the camera.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Unfortunately, Jennifer didn’t quite manage to persuade the peacocks to pose with her.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were no actual peacocks*\u00a0present in December when my fellow graduands and I gathered in the rather grand King\u2019s Hall for graduation number 2 \u2013 or \u2018congregation\u2019, as it\u2019s called at Newcastle University, but that doesn\u2019t mean it wasn\u2019t memorable. For one thing, there was something rather awe-inspiring about walking the same route as Martin Luther King had taken when he received an honorary degree from the university back in 1997. For another, it was great to catch up with some of the friends and acquaintances who were graduating on the same day.<\/p>\n

And frankly, it was also pretty great to have got to the point where I was graduating at all.<\/p>\n

It was back in 2017 that I decided to study for a research degree in children\u2019s literature, working for the MLitt part-time over two years. Looking back, I had dived into the application process in a fit of na\u00efve enthusiasm, without any real idea of what it would be like. I had imagined it might be tricky to navigate professional commitments with my new life as a student (stopping work was never a financial option for me) but had blithely supposed it would all be fine, really. I also had vague apprehensions that academia might have moved on a bit in the last 30 years, but confidently felt that I could deal with that: bring it on, said my 50-year-old self.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written in a previous blog<\/a> about the various challenges, particularly in re-learning academic writing and balancing the various demands that are inevitable at my time of life, including my dad\u2019s increasing care needs. Surprisingly (at least to me), however, the experience of doing the degree was that, overall, it alleviated rather than added to these stresses. Even at the height of dissertation writing, with deadlines looming, I was able to lose myself completely in writing, rewriting, and yet more rewriting \u2013 so much so that I once ended up on a train to Glasgow instead of Edinburgh because I was engrossed. That kind of feeling is pretty wonderful.<\/p>\n

On reflection, doing the degree also gave me some fabulous opportunities. As well as doing my own original research on mid-20th<\/sup>century girls\u2019 books, I sat in on the undergraduate children\u2019s literature course, which introduced me to things I probably wouldn\u2019t have otherwise read (Patrice Lawrence\u2019s Indigo Donut\u00a0<\/em>was a particular favourite). I spent some time in the Seven Stories archive wallowing in Noel Streatfeild\u2019s diaries and letters, which was great fun and a new experience. I heard some fabulous speakers at university events and made some good friends. I also learned to think and respond more with greater critical clarity \u2013 not just to literature, but in all aspects of life.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t say that I really felt I truly got to grips with academic writing, and my dissertation (on radicalism in Mabel Esther Allan\u2019s early books) could have been infinitely better. But I did okay, and my overall degree result was sufficient should I decide to apply to do a PhD in the future.<\/p>\n

I miss my life as a student and my frequent trips to Newcastle. Yes, it was tough, but it was also wonderful. I\u2019d very much recommend it; indeed, I might, at some point, be back\u2026<\/p>\n

*when I say there were no \u2018actual\u2019 peacocks there in December, I think my dad\u2019s smile on the day suggests he was \u2018as proud\u2019 as one.<\/p>\n

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Jennifer with her father<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jennifer, we hope that you will soon be back at Newcastle.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

For blog readers wanting to know more about the MLitt programme, see the Children’s Literature Unit page<\/a> on the Newcastle University website<\/a>. Highlights of the Seven Stories Collections can be seen here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Occasional Diary of a Mature Postgraduate Student at Newcastle University\u2019s Children\u2019s Literature Unit Jennifer Shelley \u00a0Episode Five From Fresher at Fifty to Graduate at 52 The peacocks are quite possibly the most vivid memory from my first graduation. Back in the summer of 1988, we had lunch in Edinburgh\u2019s Prestonfield House Hotel, where the … Continue reading A Fresher at Fifty<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6724,"featured_media":607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[29,48,24,20,42,112,4,41],"class_list":["post-602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-20th-century-childrens-literature","tag-archival-research","tag-childrens-literature-unit","tag-fresher-at-fifty","tag-mlitt-in-childrens-literature","tag-noel-streatfeild","tag-seven-stories","tag-studying-at-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6724"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":611,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602\/revisions\/611"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}