Origins

In 1978 Oliver Barclay, the General Secretary of the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship was developing support for Christian graduates. A number of professional groups were being set up as constituents of the Associates (UCCFA). There were groups for scientists, lawyers, teachers, medics and historians etc. In February of that year he wrote to a few people about a proposed Literature Conference. I was asked to give a paper on ‘Christian Criteria in Literary Criticism’.
     His letter appears below with other early documents, including the agenda of the first Conference on Literature which took place a few weeks later on 15 April 1978 in the boardroom of the UCCF then at 38 De Montfort Street, Leicester. The name adopted was the Literary Studies Group, later Christian Literary Studies Group when the groups were, if not divested by the UCCF, associated less closely. My records show that Pete Lowman, chairman for a short time, was followed by Roger Pooley. Sue Brown undertook some of the secretarial work together with UCCF office staff, as did Paul Cavill. A few years later a journal, The Glass, was launched, edited by John Gillespie. John Schad would be briefly Deputy Chair, and was followed by me as factotum Secretary and Editor.
     My records are not complete, but listed below are the dates and places of meetings evidenced by written materials, with some indications of the titles of papers.

Roger Kojecký

Dates and topics of first meetings