1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:04,230 Ladies and gentlemen, good evening and welcome. 2 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:09,930 My name is Chris Fletcher and I'm head of Western manuscripts here at the Bodleian Library. 3 00:00:11,460 --> 00:00:20,700 When our founder negotiated an agreement in 1610 for the deposit in his library of a copy of every book printed in the land, 4 00:00:21,420 --> 00:00:31,050 his one great concern was an influx of what he called idle books and riff raff in short English literature. 5 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:39,390 Well, we revere Thomas Bodley and his legacy, but these days we don't mind English literature. 6 00:00:40,390 --> 00:00:46,480 Nor do we mind archipelagic literature of the kind published by Andrew Mcneilly. 7 00:00:47,420 --> 00:00:52,250 In fact, we collect both as a manuscripts mine. 8 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:58,940 This is a red letter day for me. I'm very proud on behalf of Sarah Thomas, of these librarians, 9 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:05,780 to invite you to listen to an extraordinary group of writers reading from their work in this magnificent room. 10 00:01:07,460 --> 00:01:12,890 But I'm also delighted to invite you afterwards to look at some of the work itself drawn 11 00:01:12,890 --> 00:01:18,980 from the archive of Andrew's Plutarch Press and set out here before us in these cases. 12 00:01:20,610 --> 00:01:25,380 Manuscript's writers, readers and lovers of literature. 13 00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:29,950 What could a library possibly hope to add to this mix? 14 00:01:31,540 --> 00:01:34,660 Why would you serve in our community? 15 00:01:35,380 --> 00:01:42,550 When I arrived in the city not so long ago, I asked the poet Lucy Newlin to give me some hot literary tips. 16 00:01:43,870 --> 00:01:48,370 You must talk to Andrew McNeely, she said. I'm glad I did. 17 00:01:48,790 --> 00:01:49,600 And here he is.