The Literary Society
All A Level English Literature students at Stowe are members of the Literary Society. Three or four times a term, distinguished guests offer a paper or a reading to the Society. Members may be invited to dine with the guest on the evening of the talk. Recent guests have included Christopher Reid (winner of the 2009 Costa Book Award) reading from his poetry, Professor Vincent Gillespie (J.R.R. Tolkien Professor of English at the University of Oxford) providing perspectives on the plays of Harold Pinter, Professor Gordon Campbell (Leicester University) discussing the influence on literature of the King James Bible, and Professor Jonathan Bate (Provost of Worcester College, Oxford) discussing the poetry of John Clare.
The Literary Society also stages events such as the Creative Writing Forum recitations (a showcase for Stowe's young poets and short-story writers), celebrations for Shakespeare's birthday and, at the end of the academic year, a leavers' dinner spiced with music, song and drama performed by the Upper Sixth.
Stowe is well placed for theatres in Stratford, Oxford, Northampton, London, Birmingham and Milton Keynes. Theatre trips (and occasional field-trips) are included in Literary Society schedules.
Master in charge: Dr Paul Miller