It’s
July, it’s raining, it’s less than two months until launch...so C21 Literature went on
tour! On 2ndJuly 2012, the University of Brighton and the HEA
devoted a whole day to examining new issues, genres, forms and technologies of
writing, as well as investigating contemporary theory and criticism and the
publication, circulation and teaching of post-millennial writings. The Teaching Post-Millennial Literature symposium united forty five
intergenerational scholars—from PhD candidates and ECRs to renowned Professors
and senior academics, as well as creative writers and academic publishers
including Continuum Bloomsbury, Palgrave and Gylphi—to debate the opportunities and challenges of teaching
post-millennial literature.
Offering
a platform for engaged theoretical responses, alongside practice-based
creative case studies, papers
examined post-millennial evolutions in writing since the year 2000, presenting
the emerging field of twenty-first century literature as a new and directional
source of understanding and creative inspiration. Events were tweeted live and
a record of discussions, presentations and photographs from the day can be
found at #HEAdayC21. A full report from the symposium will also appear on the
HEA Literature Subject Centre website from Autumn 2012.
Later
in the month, discussions relocated North to Lincioln. Headed
up by Sian Adiseshiah and Rupert Hildyard, the second bi-annual What Happens Now? conference (16-18
July) united academics, PhD students and writers from across the globe for three
days of discussions and readings. Prof Peter Boxall offered keynotes at both
Brighton and Lincoln, reflecting on the environmental disaster novel and its
predictions for the future of both the novel form and narrative prose in the
twenty-first century. His paper at Lincoln focused on McCarthy’s The Road (2006) to reveal the ways in which the novel might name an
unnameable present and offer a utopian future gift to the world at a time of
transition.
Other
panels on the opening day concentrated on the rise of Dave Eggers, the
retro-revisiting of the 1970s and 80s in popular fiction and culture, mediating
digital experiences of literature and writing comedy in twenty-first century
narratives. With readings from Geoff Dyer, Tishani Doshi and Kathleen Jamie,
the event was testament to the range and vibrancy of debates underway in this
emerging field of literary and cultural studies. C21 Literature enjoyed a preview night as part of What Happens Now?
at the Hilton skylight bar overlooking Lincoln Cathedral. With many of the
contributors to our first issue in attendance, the night gave us the rare chance
to meet some of the brilliant authors whose work will feature in our launch issue
this Autumn. The night also provided the opportunity to announce that
the second issue of C21 Literature
will be guest edited by Sian and Rupert and will feature a range of papers
premiered at the conference. Look out for a CFP in October for this 2013 second
(REF-able!) Issue.
Issue
One will launch this Autumn – for more details, to subscribe, or to find
details of the CFP for Issue Two from October, please visit: www.gylphi.co.uk/C21literature,
add us at www.facebook.com/c21literature or
follow us on https://twitter.com/C21Literature.
