澳大新語 • 2023 UMAGAZINE 28 48 人物專訪 • EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Nick Groom教授講授《科學怪人》等哥德文學作品時穿的皮外套 The jacket Prof Nick Groom wears when he teaches Gothic literature such as Frankenstein to read nursery rhymes aloud with exaggerated and humorous body language. Their immersion in the discussion means that a 75-minutes class is over in the blink of an eye. Prof Groom joined UM as a professor of English literature in 2020. He has previously taught at the University of Exeter, the University of Bristol, and the University of Oxford. He has also held visiting professorships at the University of Chicago and Stanford University. With his expertise in literature, Prof Groom has enriched the curriculum of UM’s Department of English. For example, he has added two courses to the department curriculum: ‘Special Topics in English: Tolkien – From the Fifth Century to the Present Day’ and ‘Nineteenth-Century Gothic Literature’. ‘With my special research perspective, I believe I can bring something new to the Department of English, as well as enable students to rethink literature so that they can learn about the value of literature through classic works,’ he says. Building an Outlook on Life Through Literature Born in the town of Northampton in East Midlands of England, Prof Groom was a quiet child who liked spending his time reading alone in the town library. It was through books that he learned about the outside world. In 1985, he was admitted to the University of Oxford, where he studied English Language and Literature. Three years later, he received his bachelor’s degree with double first-class honours. He continued his studies at Oxford and received his master’s and If you have the chance to attend a class on Children’s Literature at the University of Macau (UM), you may be amazed by this scene: a character from a fairy tale dressed in a vintage Gothic costume is lecturing students, leading them on a journey about the culture and value of children’s stories. The name of this ‘character’ is Prof Nick Groom in the Department of English. With more than 30 years of teaching experience, Prof Groom has held positions in universities in the UK and the US. He has studied the English writer J.R.R. Tolkien and his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings, for many years. He recently published the book Twenty-First Century Tolkien: What Middle-Earth Means To Us Today, which has been praised highly by international media and is regarded as a must-read for fans of The Lord of the Rings. To Prof Groom, the emotional resonance evoked by classic literature provides hope that can help us in difficult times. Engaging Students in the World of Literature Back in the Children’s Literature classroom, Prof Groom takes from his leather briefcase a Mickey Mouse plush toy, which he introduces as his ‘pet’, and sits it on his shoulder. From Goldilocks and the Three Bears to Little Red Riding Hood, from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to Winnie-the-Pooh, Prof Groom, together with his pet, never fails to captivate students with the enchantment of fairy tales; his classroom abounds with laughter. Moreover, by leading students to appreciate children’s literature from a child’s perspective, he enables them to travel back to their own childhoods: they feel free
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