Oxford Literary Festival: Vybarr Cregan-Reid

Writer and academic Professor Vybarr Cregan-Reid talks about the profound impact books have on shaping a life and makes a rallying call for books in a world where literature is being squeezed out of education.

Cregan-Reid explains his own life in books, a life that started turbulently through a disastrous education, truancy and petty crime but ultimately led to a distinguished academic career. He looks at the war on humanities and makes a passionate case for the value of ideas, stories and the imagination. Cregan-Reid says literature is a vital part of who we are and challenges us to reclaim the magic of reading.

Cregan-Reid is professor of creative non-fiction at York St John University. He has written widely about literature, nature and the environment for the BBC, The Guardian, The Independent, the Big Issue, the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Washington Post, Literary Review and many others.