E.J. Pratt Lecture: Madeleine Thien

Monday, Nov. 10, 8-10 p.m.

LSPU Hall, 3 Victoria St., St. John's

The Department of English and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is delighted to announce that Madeleine Thien will be giving the E. J. Pratt Lecture on Monday, November 10th, 2025. Thien’s “What Is It to Imagine?” is a luminous and moving reflection on imagination, memory, and the world, with a range of reference that spans from 4th-century Chinese poetry to the phenomenology of Gaston Bachelard. It’s a beautiful piece with the writerly élan and moral clarity familiar to readers of Thien’s fiction. Thien will give the Lecture at 8 pm in the LSPU Hall. Admission to the Lecture is free and all are invited to attend.

Also launching at the event, Memorial University Press and Breakwater Books have also collaborated to publish an anthology of ten Pratt Lectures edited by Department of English associate professor Dr. Andrew Loman. The publication of The E. J. Pratt Lectures: 1968–2025 has been made possible by the Memorial 100th Anniversary Fund and is the culmination of decades of work on the part of the Department of English.

Presented by Department of English

Event Listing 2025-11-10 20:00:00 2025-11-10 22:00:00 America/St_Johns E.J. Pratt Lecture: Madeleine Thien The Department of English and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is delighted to announce that Madeleine Thien will be giving the E. J. Pratt Lecture on Monday, November 10th, 2025. Thien’s “What Is It to Imagine?” is a luminous and moving reflection on imagination, memory, and the world, with a range of reference that spans from 4th-century Chinese poetry to the phenomenology of Gaston Bachelard. It’s a beautiful piece with the writerly élan and moral clarity familiar to readers of Thien’s fiction. Thien will give the Lecture at 8 pm in the LSPU Hall. Admission to the Lecture is free and all are invited to attend. Also launching at the event, Memorial University Press and Breakwater Books have also collaborated to publish an anthology of ten Pratt Lectures edited by Department of English associate professor Dr. Andrew Loman. The publication of The E. J. Pratt Lectures: 1968–2025 has been made possible by the Memorial 100th Anniversary Fund and is the culmination of decades of work on the part of the Department of English. LSPU Hall, 3 Victoria St., St. John's Department of English