Literary elite nominate professor to join English Association

A professor of Caribbean literature has been appointed a Fellow of England’s leading body for the study of English language and literature.

Professor Maria Cristina Fumagalli will join the English Association after being nominated by top literary academics, writers and publishers.

Founded in 1906, the English Association is committed to fostering excellence in teaching and research and promoting the study of English literature, language and creative writing.

Professor Fumagalli is an expert in Caribbean literature, art and cinema. Her four published books include the first study of poet and playwright Derek Walcott’s engagement with the visual arts. Her current research focuses on connections between European, American, and Caribbean painters between 1850 and 1904.

She joins the English Association after being nominated by existing members and Fellows. She joins a community of over 300 Fellows and Honorary Fellows - which includes household names like Bernadine Evaristo and Michael Morpurgo - whose role is to share their expertise, raising the profile of the subject and inspiring young people to study it.

Her nomination comes less than a year after she was appointed a Fellow of the British Academy.

Speaking about the Fellowship, Professor Fumagalli said: “It is a real honour to be invited to become Fellow of the English Association, particularly because it further confirms that the vision for a comparative study of literature at the core of our multidisciplinary Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies, is instrumental to sustain “outstanding contributions” to the “community of English.”