FYI:
In 2009, Amit Chaudhuri and Prof Peter D McDonald nominated the Indian poet Arvind Krishna Mehrotra for the Professorship of Poetry at Oxford. The intention was to bring to Oxford and the wider world's attention a highly original poet, translator, and essayist, but the nomination and ensuing campaign were also meant to raise a number of questions about a conventional English literature pedagogy and its star system on the one hand, and about a changed, market-driven scenario in literary publishing on the other. Here, Chaudhuri considers not only the campaign but also its prehistory, to do with the nineties, when the "literary" changed subtly but immeasurably.
We meet in Room L67, Main Building, and there will be tea and biscuits from 3.15.
This seminar is free and open to all SOAS members and the public - no need to book in advance.
--
Rasha ChattaSenior Teaching Fellow
Department of the Near and Middle East
SOAS, University of London
Thornhaugh Street
Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
