The founder of the Philippa Pearce Lecture
Morag Styles (1947–2024)
|
That the University of Cambridge actually had a Professor of Children’s Poetry is all down to the tour de force that was Morag Styles. Spending much of her career in teacher education at Homerton College, Morag was an exceptionally inspirational teacher herself, but the hallmark of her remarkable career was a string of pioneering and influential projects and initiatives – all of which grew out of a deep love of literature combined with a visionary energy.
She was instrumental in getting children’s literature on the map as a serious subject of study: first undergraduate courses then master’s and doctoral programmes grew into the internationally renowned Centre for Research in Children’s Literature at the Cambridge Faculty of Education. |
In the 1980s she fought for the recognition of children’s poetry and wrote its first ever history, From the Garden to the Street (1998). And as the academic study of children’s picturebooks began to take off, Morag’s contribution, with her typical concern for equality and inclusion, was to bring the perspectives of actual children into the research.
Morag loved and engaged with all the arts: literature, painting, dance – and music, which perhaps influenced her taste in poetry. She specially enjoyed forms with clear musicality, from the rhythms of Caribbean verse to the lilt of Robert Burns, part of her proud Scottish heritage. Hers is a rich and far-reaching legacy, not least through her final project, The Caribbean Poetry Project, which has influenced teaching and syllabuses both in the UK and the Caribbean.
After the death of her friend Philippa Pearce, Morag brought together the author’s family, friends and colleagues to found this memorial lecture as a celebration of excellence in literature for children. She was the chair of the lecture’s steering committee until 2016, and continued to provide invaluable wisdom and support as a committee member up to 2024.
Morag loved and engaged with all the arts: literature, painting, dance – and music, which perhaps influenced her taste in poetry. She specially enjoyed forms with clear musicality, from the rhythms of Caribbean verse to the lilt of Robert Burns, part of her proud Scottish heritage. Hers is a rich and far-reaching legacy, not least through her final project, The Caribbean Poetry Project, which has influenced teaching and syllabuses both in the UK and the Caribbean.
After the death of her friend Philippa Pearce, Morag brought together the author’s family, friends and colleagues to found this memorial lecture as a celebration of excellence in literature for children. She was the chair of the lecture’s steering committee until 2016, and continued to provide invaluable wisdom and support as a committee member up to 2024.
