ConVersify: Poetry, Politics and Form

Saturday 10th - Sunday 11th September 2011

The University of Edinburgh supported by The Roberts Fund and in collaboration with the Scottish Poetry Library, organised by Lila Matsumoto, Greg Thomas and Samantha Walton.

This two day postgraduate led conference will bring together poets and researchers to engage in a conversation about experimental, innovative and alternative approaches to poetic form. While many poets self-report that political objectives underlie their practice, in the realm of, but not limited to, ideology critique, the assertion or negation of identity and/or a confrontation with mainstream publishing, charges of elitism, passivity and inaccessibility can be levelled. Taking this point of tension as our catalyst, and adopting a trans-historical perspective, we wish to consider what “experimental” poetry is, and what it is for.

We are calling for twenty minute papers which: discuss poetry of any period or genre which challenges or aims to challenge convention through formal innovation and/or interaction with political, social and cultural realities; explore the labels we use to denote “experimental”, “avant-garde” or particular stylistic modes of verse; question whether political objectives and/or antagonisms can be articulated or furthered through radical approaches to composition and language; consider how readers engage with experimental poetry. Inseparable from these themes is the issue of what we perceive as 'the political', what counts as a political act and whether the writer has a responsibility to assert political agency; we are particularly interested in papers in which these questions are at the forefront of discussion.

Please send 250 - 300 word abstracts for 20-minute papers as a word attachment to conversifyconference@gmail.com by Monday 16th May 2011. There will also be evening poetry readings in town - please mention when you submit your abstract if you would be interested in reading.

19 George Square, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9LD

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