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Room GR05, Faculty of English, 9 West Road, CB3 9DP
About
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Between Word and Image explores new directions in the study of concrete and visual poetics in Britain and abroad, focusing particularly on the contributions of women artists and poets. It also coincides with the 60th anniversary of the first international exhibition of concrete, kinetic, and phonic poetry, which was held in Cambridge, in the Rushmore rooms of St Catharine’s College, in late November 1964. Organised by Stephen Bann, Reg Gadney, Philip Steadman, and Mike Weaver, this exhibition was the first of its kind to be staged in Britain.
Reflecting on its significance, sixty years on, this event (which consists of two parts – a symposium followed by a collaborative poetry performance with British PoetArtist Paula Claire) investigates the ongoing legacy of avant-garde poetic practices in Cambridge. Moreover, Between Word and Image picks up on a recent surge in critical interest surrounding the work of female artists and poets associated with the concrete poetry movement, and will consider in more depth the way they contributed to the development of concrete and visual poetics in the post-war period.
Speakers:
Prof Stephen Bann (Emeritus Professor of History of Art, University of Bristol)
Dr Greg Thomas (Writer and Editor)
Dr Natalie Ferris (Lecturer in 20th and 21st Century Women’s Writing, University of Bristol)
Luke Allan (PhD Candidate, University of Cambridge)
India Oswin (PhD Candidate, University of Cambridge)
The symposium will be followed in the afternoon by a virtual, collaborative poetry performance and conversation with concrete sound poet Paula Claire. With her audience, Claire will explore a range of works and materials, from early ‘poem-objects’ to her pioneering work ‘sounding’ the natural environment.
Claire’s performance will be followed by a conversation with Cambridge PhD candidate India Oswin, who is currently researching a thesis on women and concrete poetry in Britain.
Tea, coffee, and light refreshments will be served.
Enquiries: betweenwordandimage@gmail.com
“Between Word and Image is jointly supported by Cambridge Visual Culture and the Judith E. Wilson Centre for Poetics.”