Robert Southey, writing and Romanticism.
A special issue of Romanticism on the Net.
Although he was for a long time the forgotten member of the 'Lake
School', the
last decade and a half has seen a resurgence of interest in the life,
writings
and contextual significances of Robert Southey. As Peter J. Kitson
has observed,
in a critical climate in which British Romanticism and British
Romantic writers
are subject to interrogation and revision, Southey's importance lies
in his
inhabiting of
… a space which is not canonical, yet neither is it merely
contextual. His
works are
often outside the aesthetic scope of what we have come to define as
Romantic,
concerned with the prosaic, the quotidian, and seldom with the
transcendent, even
in
his most heroic writings.
Yet in spite of his on-going critical rehabilitation, Southey has
continued to
exemplify Marilyn Butler's observation that 'if you are a dead author
and not in
the canon you are probably not in print'. The publication by
Pickering and
Chatto of a new, multi-volume edition of Southey's Poetical Works,
1793-1810,
eds. Lynda Pratt, Tim Fulford and Daniel Roberts (2003), will
transform this
situation. The edition will make available for the first time the
texts (print
and manuscript) which made him one of the most controversial writers
of the
period. In so doing, it will restore Southey to his rightful
prominence as a
poet and allow fresh assessment of his achievements, especially in the
first two
decades of his career.
To mark the appearance of Robert Southey: Poetical Works, 1793-1810,
essays are
sought for a special issue of Romanticism on the Net.
Essays on all aspects of Southey's works, especially those of the
1790s and
1800s, are welcome.
Topics might include:
* The issues involved in editing Southey or any other neglected
Romantic writer
* Southey's significance for reformulations of Romanticism
* Southey's relationships with his canonical and non-canonical peers
* Southey and the politics of Romanticism
Essays should be between 5000-8000 words and prepared according to the
MLA style-
sheet. They should be sent to:
Dr Lynda Pratt, School of English, Queen's University, Belfast, BT7
1NN, Northern
Ireland.
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Contributions should be received by 1 December 2002.
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