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-------- Oorspronkelijk bericht --------<br>
Van: Stuart <stuart.n.clarke@btinternet.com> <br>
Datum: 21-09-2014 11:19 (GMT+01:00) <br>
Aan: <br>
Onderwerp: Message from the VWSGB <br>
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<div class="PlainText">Katherine Mansfield and the ‘Blooms Berries’<br>
An international conference organized by the Katherine Mansfield Society, <br>
to be held at the Newberry Library in Chicago, Illinois, USA<br>
28-30 May 2015<br>
Keynote Address:<br>
Professor Sydney Janet Kaplan<br>
University of Washington<br>
<br>
In his eagerness to establish Katherine Mansfield’s place among her peers, <br>
John Middleton Murry sometimes published work that she herself would have <br>
rejected. Likewise, the extent of his culling of her letters and notebooks <br>
glossed over Mansfield’s complex personality and relationships, elements of <br>
her life that provide a context for better understanding her fiction. This <br>
‘Mansfield Myth’ made her appear out of touch with the social and cultural <br>
upheaval of her time.<br>
<br>
Having generally been relegated to the fringe of literary modernism during <br>
her lifetime, especially among the influential ‘Blooms Berries’, as <br>
Mansfield referred to them in a letter to Lady Ottoline Morrell on 15 <br>
August 1917, she nevertheless worked her way into enviable positions of <br>
prestige in some key literary magazines, and had become well known as a <br>
writer by the end of her life. It is as a member of the social fringe, <br>
though, that Mansfield becomes the most intriguing. As Sydney Janet Kaplan <br>
demonstrates in her seminal book, Katherine Mansfield and the Origins of <br>
Modernist Fiction, Mansfield brings a different perspective –– and, like <br>
Virginia Woolf, provides a corrective – to the dominant, male-centered <br>
version of modernism. Likewise, as a colonial, Mansfield remained free of <br>
the traditions that haunted most of the Bloomsbury group, including their <br>
‘anxiety of influence’. In this, Mansfield demonstrated herself as more <br>
‘modern’ than some of her contemporaries; having less ‘tradition’ to <br>
overcome, she was able to adopt a style that was unselfconscious of <br>
influence. The focus of this conference will therefore allow us to place <br>
her more firmly within the literary context of her time.<br>
<br>
Suggested topics for papers might include:<br>
Mansfield and the ‘Blooms Berries’, focusing on her personal and/or <br>
professional relationships with particular members of the Bloomsbury group.<br>
Mansfield on the Fringe, exploring her relationship with other <br>
fringe-members of the Bloomsbury group such as D.H. Lawrence and T.S. <br>
Eliot, or perhaps the impact her relegation to the fringe had on her <br>
personal and/or professional life.<br>
Mansfield and Style, which could address some of the literary influences of <br>
some of the Bloomsbury group on Mansfield or her influence on them.<br>
Mansfield and Art, focusing on the shared influences the <br>
post-impressionists had on both Mansfield and the members of the Bloomsbury <br>
group, as well as other cross-fertilizations.<br>
Mansfield ‘in’ Bloomsbury, exploring how Mansfield has been portrayed in <br>
the fiction and letters of the various members.<br>
Bloomsbury ‘in’ Mansfield, turning the tables to focus on how members of <br>
Bloomsbury are portrayed in Mansfield’s fiction and letters.<br>
Mansfield, herself. We would entertain proposals that focus more <br>
specifically on Mansfield; however, priority will be given to those <br>
proposals that tie more directly to the conference theme.<br>
<br>
What better venue to explore Mansfield’s interrelationships with the <br>
members of Bloomsbury than the beautiful Newberry Library in Chicago, the <br>
world’s second largest holder of Mansfield’s papers. As part of the <br>
conference, Huntington University will sponsor an exhibit of some of the <br>
library’s Mansfield holdings. Those interested in staying over on Sunday <br>
can arrange to visit the Shedd Aquarium, the Art Institute of Chicago, or <br>
the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History.<br>
<br>
Please submit abstracts of 250 words plus a bio-sketch of 50 words to the <br>
conference organizers, Todd Martin, Erika Baldt, and Alex Moffett, to:<br>
kmsintheus@gmail.com<br>
Complete panel proposals of three speakers plus a chair, are welcome.<br>
Deadline for abstracts: 30 October 2014<br>
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