Oxford accused of killing off critical magazine

IN ITS illustrious 150-year history, it has published the early works of some of the country’s greatest literary figures, including JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis and WH Auden.

But now the Oxford Magazine has ceased publication, with dons accusing the university’s management of a successful attempt to “kill it off ” on account of its critical articles.

The magazine, which was founded in 1883 and describes itself as “a forum for the free expression of opinion within the university”, carried reviews, poems and commentary by Oxford academics.

Dons say they have been forced to cease publication as a result of management changes enforced by the university’s top brass. The magazine has been online only since December 2020.

“This is management trying to squash a free speech vehicle because it might be free speech that it doesn’t want to read,” one senior don said.

“They are saying it is to do with GDPR and data protection – but we think that is nonsense. We assume that they just don’t like it because it is occasionally critical of the university’s great and good. I suspect they are just using this as an excuse to kill it off.”

The magazine, which comes out four times each term, is edited by academics but distributed and published via the university’s official channels.

A joint poem by CS Lewis and Owen Barfield called Abecedarium Philosophicum was published in the magazine in 1933. The following year, JRR Tolkien’s poem, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, was featured – this was the first appearance of the character who later featured in his novel The Lord of the Rings.

WH Auden published his early poem The Sunken Lane in the magazine.

A spokesman for Oxford University said: “The university is committed to free speech and is not seeking to prevent the Oxford Magazine from publishing. The magazine’s own editorial board has taken the decision to suspend publication this term.”