An Introduction: The One in Culture

The concept of ‘culture’ is a vague one, and one that I have been grappling with as I’ve been trying to write this introduction. Culture isn’t easy to pin down in a way that fits a certain box; in fact, I feel like the point of culture is that it creates the box and then steps outside of it, ready for the next challenge. I am lucky enough to be twenty years old and living in London, getting my BA in English at the most central university campus that the city has to offer. I am constantly sensing the buzz of the hundreds of cultures that pave the city as I walk (or run) to lectures during the day or as I patter across bridges in the small hours of the morning. London has forced upon me the true meaning of culture: it is everything that creates the things in life that we enjoy and like to stick around for. Culture is human achievement at its most exhilarating.

So, how to translate the buzzing life of culture onto the page in the best and most responsible way? Well, my first answer to that is not to be afraid of just how sprawling the term ‘culture’ is. I was initially worried that I couldn’t properly solidify in simple terms what culture is specifically, but I have come to accept that I will be learning more about this subject on the job – who isn’t? In this window, I want to look out as far as possible, reaching out beyond the seats of a city theatre (although there certainly will be some of that). Let’s relish the political role that culture has to play in our world, reach back across the ages and into our history, celebrate the voices in culture that are always being told to shut down. In the current state of the world, culture, and our expressions and portrayals of it, are more important than ever and I cannot wait to begin this journey with you.