Late Summer Lectures in English

[Lokasenna]

I don't know why I didn't think of posting this sooner (perhaps because I only visited the website for the first time the other day..?), but my for the last few years my university has been running a 'Late Summer Lectures in English' series - a programme of lectures intended for a public and non-academic audience designed to showcase PhD students' active research or literary interests. This year, for the first time, they have been recorded and put online - so if any of you are interested, here is the link to them:

http://readdurhamenglish.wordpress.com/tag/late-summer-lectures-2013/

Subjects are as follows:

Week 1: Dickens as proto-steampunk, particularly with reference to his obscure Mudfog Papers.
Week 2: A double bill of Bronte goodness, with two lectures covering Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.
Week 3: A cultural history of the figures of the vampire and the cannibal in literature, with particular reference to Varney the Vampire.
Week 4: The portrayal of aeroplanes and airmen in early 20th century Irish poetry.
Week 5: The use of landscape in the works of H. P. Lovecraft. (I gave this one - I apologise in advance for my 'lecture voice'!)
Week 6: The function of the ape in the iconography of the earliest printed books, particularly Caxton.

There are another three lectures yet to come - I'll give this thread a prod when they're made available!

[JBI]

Week 4: The portrayal of aeroplanes and airmen in early 20th century Irish poetry - quite specific a topic, quite specific. Next I am going to lecture on withering chrysanthemums in recovered pre-tang poetry manuscripts found in the British Library.

[Lokasenna]

Week 4: The portrayal of aeroplanes and airmen in early 20th century Irish poetry - quite specific a topic, quite specific. Next I am going to lecture on withering chrysanthemums in recovered pre-tang poetry manuscripts found in the British Library.

That was actually my favourite lecture of them all so far - Amy did a good job of making it engaging. She deliberately assumed that no one would have read anything except perhaps a bit of Yeats. As a result, I've been introduced to several poets I had never heard of before, but now really want to look up - particularly W. R. Rodgers, as the quotations she used from him were really quite captivating.

[Emil Miller]

A cultural history of the figures of the vampire and the cannibal in literature, with particular reference to Varney the Vampire.

Surely this is tongue in cheek, one might as well lecture on: A cultural history of buffoons and jesters in literature, with particular reference to Hidy the Clown.

[kev67]

I probably should listen to the one about Varney the Vampire. Varney is my surname. My friends at school teased me a bit when they found a copy in the school library. I thought about reading it last year, but I gather it's very, very long. Also, it costs quite a lot to buy, unless you have an e-reader, in which case it costs next to nothing.

[hannah_arendt]

Thanks :) I am going to listen it soon.

[Lokasenna]

A cultural history of the figures of the vampire and the cannibal in literature, with particular reference to Varney the Vampire.

Surely this is tongue in cheek, one might as well lecture on: A cultural history of buffoons and jesters in literature, with particular reference to Hidy the Clown.

I think originally Lauren was intending to lecture exclusively on Varney, but was encouraged to broaden her scope in order for the lecture to have more popular appeal. I must admit, I wasn't 100% convinced by the act of drawing a parity between the figures of the vampire and the cannibal - they are, after all, quite different things.

As for your other idea, who knows? Jassy has already told us on several occasions that his numerous works are studied at university level - perhaps someday someone will give a public lecture on him, if they haven't already done so...


I probably should listen to the one about Varney the Vampire. Varney is my surname. My friends at school teased me a bit when they found a copy in the school library. I thought about reading it last year, but I gather it's very, very long. Also, it costs quite a lot to buy, unless you have an e-reader, in which case it costs next to nothing.

My surname is Varley, close enough that I got a bit of that at school as well. Varney the Vampire is exceedingly long and involved - 220 chapters according to wikipedia, and roughly 667,000 words. It is a curious work, however, that has been a major influence on the emergent vampire mythology.


Thanks I am going to listen it soon.

I hope you enjoy them!

[prendrelemick]

Week 4 sounds too intriguing to miss.

[mal4mac]

An Irish Airman Foresees His Death - W. B. Yeats

I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.

[maxphisher]

Thanks so much, Lokasenna. I am actually very interested in the Week 4 lecture. As a Joyce scholar, there are plenty of air voyage references that pop up in my research. If nothing else, the idea of being able to leave the island without departing via two to three traditional sea routes had to be of great interest to the Irish. So many of their departure points were laden with troubling undercurrents, no pun intended. Dublin bay, North Wall, generally led them to Holyhead or Liverpool, just another reminder of British imperialism, and Cork, Galway, and Cobh would never lose the feeling of fleeing the island, hungry and headed for the US. Also, many of Joyce's flight references are precise routes to Paris, which is always interesting for a scholar. Obviously, the fact that they are always return flight routes builds that interest.

Anyhow, thanks for the link. I'll be listening over the next week.

[kev67]

Varney the Byronic Vampyre, that sounds a bit better.

[hannah_arendt]

I think originally Lauren was intending to lecture exclusively on Varney, but was encouraged to broaden her scope in order for the lecture to have more popular appeal. I must admit, I wasn't 100% convinced by the act of drawing a parity between the figures of the vampire and the cannibal - they are, after all, quite different things.

As for your other idea, who knows? Jassy has already told us on several occasions that his numerous works are studied at university level - perhaps someday someone will give a public lecture on him, if they haven't already done so...



My surname is Varley, close enough that I got a bit of that at school as well. Varney the Vampire is exceedingly long and involved - 220 chapters according to wikipedia, and roughly 667,000 words. It is a curious work, however, that has been a major influence on the emergent vampire mythology.



I hope you enjoy them!

I am now listening about Lovecraft:) If it comes to his biography I knew some things because of R. Howard but I have never read anything written by him.

PS. Mr Varley has very 'academic' and "actor`s' voice :)

[qimissung]

Thank you, Lokasenna! I really enjoyed the series of English lectures that Yale put online; I think I watched two of them. I will be watching the Jane Eyre/Wuthering Heights one first, but they all look interesting. Except the Dickens one. I don't find steampunk very interesting.

As regarding yours, I haven't read a lot of Lovecraft. Can you recommend one story that might help me understand some of the things you will be referring to? Thanks.

[Emil Miller]

I think originally Lauren was intending to lecture exclusively on Varney, but was encouraged to broaden her scope in order for the lecture to have more popular appeal. I must admit, I wasn't 100% convinced by the act of drawing a parity between the figures of the vampire and the cannibal - they are, after all, quite different things.

As for your other idea, who knows? Jassy has already told us on several occasions that his numerous works are studied at university level - perhaps someday someone will give a public lecture on him, if they haven't already done so...


Vampires are something I find singularly uninteresting but I did a Wiki search on Varney and discovered that he originated in a series of 19th century penny dreadful pamphlets, which when strung together make up a novel of nearly 667,000 words. So while the genre is rooted and remains in rubbish, the colossal length of the Varney novel compared to its modern day equivalent shows that fangs aren't what they used to be.

Returning to Jassy Melson's magnum opus, I admit to not having read it as it seems strangely unavailable but, as with Varney the Vampire,
the title Hidy the Clown does not inspire confidence.

[Emil Miller]

An Irish Airman Foresees His Death - W. B. Yeats

I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.

Thanks for posting this poem, it's great writing that seldom gets much better.

It also raises an intriguing literary point concerning W S Maugham's novel The Razor's Edge that concerns a young American's search for the meaning of life.
The Protagonist tells the narrator that during the First World War he was a pilot flying for the Escadrille Lafayette. One of his co-pilots, a live-for-the-moment Irishman, is shot down but, though mortally wounded, manages to land his aircraft intact. The American lands nearby in an attempt to help him but the Irishman simply say's 'Well I'll be jiggered,' and dies. It's this that sends the American on his long journey when the war ends.
Maugham was a prolific reader and it's quite probable that he read this poem and used it as the springboard for his central character's quest.

[Lokasenna]

Week 4 sounds too intriguing to miss.

It is a very good lecture - and I'm rather pleased that one of the more obscure topics is getting such interest.


An Irish Airman Foresees His Death - W. B. Yeats

Yep, that gets referenced!


Thanks so much, Lokasenna. I am actually very interested in the Week 4 lecture. As a Joyce scholar, there are plenty of air voyage references that pop up in my research. If nothing else, the idea of being able to leave the island without departing via two to three traditional sea routes had to be of great interest to the Irish. So many of their departure points were laden with troubling undercurrents, no pun intended. Dublin bay, North Wall, generally led them to Holyhead or Liverpool, just another reminder of British imperialism, and Cork, Galway, and Cobh would never lose the feeling of fleeing the island, hungry and headed for the US. Also, many of Joyce's flight references are precise routes to Paris, which is always interesting for a scholar. Obviously, the fact that they are always return flight routes builds that interest.

Anyhow, thanks for the link. I'll be listening over the next week.

You're very welcome - I hope it lives up to expectations! The lecturer herself is from Belfast, so this really does form part of her cultural heritage as well.


Varney the Byronic Vampyre, that sounds a bit better.

Almost anything is improved by adding Byron... except perhaps Byron's own poetry... but that's a grumble for another day...


I am now listening about Lovecraft If it comes to his biography I knew some things because of R. Howard but I have never read anything written by him.

PS. Mr Varley has very 'academic' and "actor`s' voice

Well, Robert Howard certainly had a very major impact on Lovecraft's life, and was of course one of his greatest literary supporters - if you like Howard, then Lovecraft is likely to be something you would enjoy. As for my voice, well... let's just say I'd be at home on Radio 4...


Thank you, Lokasenna! I really enjoyed the series of English lectures that Yale put online; I think I watched two of them. I will be watching the Jane Eyre/Wuthering Heights one first, but they all look interesting. Except the Dickens one. I don't find steampunk very interesting.

As regarding yours, I haven't read a lot of Lovecraft. Can you recommend one story that might help me understand some of the things you will be referring to? Thanks.

You're very welcome - I hope they are up to Yale's standards. As for Lovecraft, I always suggest The Colour Out of Space as a good starting point - it is absolutely one of his best short stories, and does not require a knowledge of his wider mythology. That said, all these lectures have been designed (or at least should have been - I did miss the Bronte ones, so I cannot speak for them) with the understanding that the audience might not necessarily have read the texts under discussion - these really are 'public lectures' designed for the general public.

As for Dickensian steampunk, I rather enjoyed that one - it is not often that one comes across obscure Dickens!


Vampires are something I find singularly uninteresting but I did a Wiki search on Varney and discovered that he originated in a series of 19th century penny dreadful pamphlets, which when strung together make up a novel of nearly 667,000 words. So while the genre is rooted and remains in rubbish, the colossal length of the Varney novel compared to its modern day equivalent shows that fangs aren't what they used to be.

Returning to Jassy Melson's magnum opus, I admit to not having read it as it seems strangely unavailable but, as with Varney the Vampire,
the title Hidy the Clown does not inspire confidence.

Well, what's in a title? True, vampires have been done to death (pun intended) in the literature of the last century, and the last few decades in particular. But I must say that Varney did sound an interesting novel, if only as an exercise in genre. I would be doing many authors a disservice, including Mr Lovecraft, if I judged literature on its medium of presentation - the penny dreadfuls are a fascinating socio-economic and literary artefact.

[hannah_arendt]

Well, Robert Howard certainly had a very major impact on Lovecraft's life, and was of course one of his greatest literary supporters - if you like Howard, then Lovecraft is likely to be something you would enjoy. As for my voice, well... let's just say I'd be at home on Radio 4...

If it comes to Howard, I like "Solomon Kane" only.

When we`ll you on Radio 4? I took part in radio programs about literature about ten years ago and it was very nice experience. Now, unfortunately I don`t have much time for it.

[mal4mac]

As for Dickensian steampunk, I rather enjoyed that one - it is not often that one comes across obscure Dickens!

Well he was punked by a steam train, so it doesn't seem that obscure:

"Mr. and Mrs. Boffin ... were on the South-Eastern Railway with me, in a terribly destructive accident. When I had done what I could to help others, I climbed back into my carriage—nearly turned over a viaduct, and caught aslant upon the turn—to extricate the worthy couple. They were much soiled, but otherwise unhurt. [...] I remember with devout thankfulness that I can never be much nearer parting company with my readers for ever than I was then, until there shall be written against my life, the two words with which I have this day closed this book:—THE END." - Charles Dickens

"Steam Trains in Literature" would be a good topic, thinking also of Zola's La bete humaine, Tolstoy's Anna K, and various Hitchcock inspirations.

P.S. Mr & Mrs Boffin? Could even Dickens make up a better name?

[kev67]

I thought it was a good spot, the bit the Wuthering Heights lecture where Cathy is dying and says she think she sees a face, who might be Mr Lockwood's. I will have to check that out.

[Lokasenna]

Hey-ho!

New lecture been released on podcast - on the use of ape iconography in the earliest printed books. It was a good lecture!

There'll only be one more to add, I'm afraid - the penultimate speaker withdrew her permission to have it recorded (I have no idea why...) - I'll put up another reminder when the last one is made available!