https://www.uwe.ac.uk Book Arts

An exhibition hosted by Bower Ashton Library, Bristol, UK

Stephen Emmerson

How to read a book

Thursday 4th September – Tuesday 4th November 2025


Join us on Tues 4th November 12.45 – 1.15 for a free talk with artist Stephen Emmerson as part of his exhibition How to read a book. Special Collections area of Bower Ashton Library, UWE Bristol. No booking needed, just turn up, free event, all welcome.*

How to read a book is an exhibition concerned with language, writing, and memory. It also explores themes of neurodiversity, including dyslexia, by offering visitors an alternative way of approaching books and text.

Applying methods found in palmistry to lines found on the covers of well-read paperback books, this exhibition is an invitation to make art out of the everyday.

Alongside How to read a book are other works exploring what it is to be a book.

Stephen Emmerson is a writer and artist. His most recent publications are: flight, published by Guillemot Press, Big Song, published by Broken Sleep Books, and Gallery and A Box of Ideas, both published by Timglaset Editions.

Visit Stephen Emmerson’s Instagram page or website for more information.

*The nearest car parking for visiting UWE Bower Ashton campus is – public parking meters on main road or at Ashton Court.

This exhibition is open to the public Monday – Friday 9am-5pm. No booking needed. The library is on the first floor of B block.

For more information on Bower Ashton Library, visitor access and campus map, see the library website. You can also follow the library’s Instagram feed.

UWE Bristol, City Campus at Bower Ashton, Kennel Lodge Road, Bristol BS3 2JT.