The reason for the celebration.
Join me at the British Academy for a celebration of Poland’s 1980 Nobel laureate in literature: “His Master’s Voice: Czesław Miłosz and his dialogue with British, Irish and American poetry.” The event, arranged in association with the Polish Cultural Institution, will take place on Thursday, 6 December, from 6 to 7.30 p.m. at The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, with a reception afterward.
I’ll be taking on the American Miłosz, and I’ll be joined by:
George Szirtes, the distinguished poet, translator, and broadcaster, whose New and Collected Poems (2009) was Independent Poetry Book of the Year.
Jerzy Jarniewicz, one of Poland’s most highly-regarded poets, translators, and literary scholars.
Michael Parker, whose books include Seamus Heaney: The Making of the Poet (1993), Northern Irish Literature 1956-2006 (2007), and Irish Literature Since 1990 (2009).
Stephen Regan, author of two books on Philip Larkin and a forthcoming critical study of the sonnet from Shakespeare to Heaney. He is the editor of Irish Writing: An Anthology of Irish Literature in English 1789-1939 in the Oxford World’s Classics series.
According to the Academy’s website, “At a juncture when the concept of ‘value’ is reckoned primarily in economic terms, it seems timely to consider how poetry promotes dialogue within and between cultures, and so promotes other, richer ways of seeing.”
The event is free, but registration is required – you can do that here. It would be fun to see you!
Tags: Czeslaw Milosz, Jerzy Jarniewicz, Michael Parker, Stephen Regan