The Open University’s Contemporary Cultures of Writing Research Group is holding a one-day Creative Writing symposium on 29 May 2024, titled ‘Other Worlds: Contemporary Ekphrastic Poetry’, in Senate House, London. Speakers include Emily Berry, Janine Bradbury, Anthony V. Capildeo, Alycia Pirmohamed, Padraig Regan, and Kandace Siobhan Walker.
There is a £10 registration fee, which includes complimentary lunch and refreshments. All are welcome!
This symposium will explore contemporary approaches to ekphrasis, an interdisciplinary practice involving poetry and visual/non-textual art forms. While ekphrastic poems have typically consisted of responses to visual artworks like paintings and sculptures (e.g., W. H. Auden’s ‘Musée des Beaux Arts’, Rita Dove’s ‘The Venus of Willendorf’), ekphrasis can encompass poetry inspired by many other kinds of art forms, such as films, television programmes, video games, music, theatre and dance performances, and more. This symposium will consider how poets interact with non-textual works in a variety of experimental ways.
The day will consist of panels and Q&A discussions that combine the critical and the creative, with poets giving presentations on their approaches to ekphrasis as well as reading from their own work. Speakers include Emily Berry, Janine Bradbury, Anthony V. Capildeo, Alycia Pirmohamed, Padraig Regan, and Kandace Siobhan Walker.
This symposium is supported by OpenARC, the Open University Arts Research Centre.
Date: 29 May 2024, 10.30am – 3.30pm (arrival and complimentary refreshments from 9.45am)
Location: Senate House, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU
Cost: There is a £10 registration fee. The day includes complimentary lunch and refreshments.
Further info and to book here.
Queries? Email IESEvents@sas.ac.uk or CCWritingOU@open.ac.uk
(Image credits: Jessica Ruscello on Unsplash; Vadim Babenko on Unsplash)