Goldsmiths, University of London
Department of English and Comparative Literature
Ernest Dowson (1867-1900): Poet, translator, novelist
15 April 2016
The Department of English and Comparative Literature at Goldsmiths are pleased to announce the first international symposium on the poet, translator, and novelist Ernest Dowson (1867-1900). In the 120 years since the publication of Verses, Dowson has become something of a Decadent legend, but is still considered a minor figure of the fin de siècle. This free symposium seeks to develop new perspectives on Ernest Dowson’s life and works by engaging with the complex critical positioning of Dowson’s works, and interrogating his literary legacy.
Dowson Day is free to attend and open to all.
Register here: dowson2016.wordpress.com/registration/
Twitter: @dowsonday
Programme
9.30 Registration
10.00 Keynote
Kostas Boyiopoulos (Durham University) - Tropes of Tainted Medievalism: Ernest Dowson’s Recasting of Fin’Amor
11.00 Intermezzo: Tea
11.20 Panel I – Texts
Chair: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths)
Alex Wong (University of Cambridge) - The Strange Success of Dowson’s ‘Cynara’
Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths) - From the Drawer to the Cloister: Ernest Dowson’s Poésie Schublade
Bénédicte Coste (University of Burgundy) - Ethique par gros temps: Ernest Dowson’s short stories
Sarah Green (University of Oxford) - ‘Lectured him out of the Fathers upon Chastity’: Ernest Dowson and Lionel Johnson
1.00 Lunch
2.00 Panel II – Contexts
Chair: Jane Desmarais (Goldsmiths)
Robert Thomson Pruett (University of Oxford) - Dowson, Verlaine, and the Symbolism of Grace
Joseph Thorne (Liverpool John Moores University) - Ernest and Aubrey: Friendship and Rivalry in the Fin de Siècle
Alice Condé (Goldsmiths) - ‘The pale roses expire’: Dowson’s decadent diminuendo
3.30 Intermezzo: Coffee
4.00 Plenary
Jad Adams (Institute of English, University of London) -‘Slimy trails and holy places’: Dowson’s strange life
4.40 Open discussion & concluding comments
5.00 Poetry & preprandials