From james.d.gifford at gmail.com Mon Oct 22 13:37:01 2012 From: james.d.gifford at gmail.com (James Gifford) Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:37:01 -0700 Subject: [ilds] James Clawson on Joyce Message-ID: <5085AE6D.7060609@gmail.com> Hello all, Our own James Clawson has just contributed a public lecture on "'Dirty Eaters': Bloom's Eco-Critical Cycles in Lestrygonians" to the Year of Ulysses (YoU) project: http://web.uvic.ca/~mvp1922/dirtyeaters/#more-1307 Grand work, James! Now to an eco-critical reading of Durrell's island books? Landscape as character? Engagement with the non-human? I'm suddenly tempted to nibble on the city vs. the country in /Justine/... All best, James -- --------------------------------------- James Gifford, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of English and University Core Director School of English, Philosophy and Humanities University College: Arts, Sciences, Professional Studies Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vancouver Campus Voice: 604-648-4476 Fax: 604-648-4489 E-mail: gifford at fdu.edu http://alpha.fdu.edu/~jgifford 842 Cambie Street Vancouver, BC V6B 2P6 Canada From james.d.gifford at gmail.com Tue Oct 23 08:34:07 2012 From: james.d.gifford at gmail.com (James Gifford) Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2012 08:34:07 -0700 Subject: [ilds] Rereading: The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell (Jan Morris) In-Reply-To: <50815E5D.9040800@utc.edu> References: <8858DC0A9381440E84C5F11CE9345D7A@abc> <50815E5D.9040800@utc.edu> Message-ID: <5086B8EF.5030502@gmail.com> > I took a rather strong position on this curious > introduction at the British Library this summer. > I do think that the piece is a bit more revealing > about Jan Morris' special capabilities and limits > than about Lawrence Durrell's. (Simon Ings was > more direct. He called the intro "a pompous, > contemptuous flob > .") I remember that moment, and as I recall, someone lured him... Ings was an inspiration in his talk. Still, it was grand to have Jan at the conference as well, though not at the BL talks. Simon Ings' comments were a real provocation to new thinking and new ideas, as were all the speakers. A fresh breeze (or a stiff wind) to clear the air. It's good to see thoughts returning ever to London. -- --------------------------------------- James Gifford, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of English and University Core Director School of English, Philosophy and Humanities University College: Arts, Sciences, Professional Studies Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vancouver Campus Voice: 604-648-4476 Fax: 604-648-4489 E-mail: gifford at fdu.edu http://alpha.fdu.edu/~jgifford 842 Cambie Street Vancouver, BC V6B 2P6 Canada From charles-sligh at utc.edu Tue Oct 23 16:00:34 2012 From: charles-sligh at utc.edu (Charles Sligh) Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2012 19:00:34 -0400 Subject: [ilds] "Can you help Gerald Durrell's family document his life?" (Bournemouth Echo) Message-ID: <50872192.3010201@utc.edu> Can you help Gerald Durrell's family document his life? 11:00am Monday 22nd October 2012 By Faith Eckersall HIS BOOK 'My Family And Other Animals' is one of the best-loved in the English language, a classic describing the hilarious antics of his siblings as they enjoyed a four-year sojourn on the Greek island of Corfu. But it was from Bournemouth that zoo-keeper, naturalist and author Gerald Durrell first set out on his life's adventures, after his eldest brother, Lawrence, demand the family quit the 'sharp, stinging drizzle' and 'froth-chained sea' one grim August day in 1935. And it was to this town, and the Daily Echo's offices, that his widow, Lee, returned on Friday with Gerald's nephew, Gerry Breeze, to research her husband's links to the area for a new exhibition about him to be unveiled at his wildlife conservation trust and zoo in Jersey. "At the main park we have just had our 50th anniversary and it's high time we actually tell Gerald Durrell's story," she said. "There's lots of archive material and there's stuff in offices all over the place but we are pulling it all together to make a permanent exhibition, in the Trust's grounds." Lee and Gerry Breeze were especially interested in old Daily Echo news cuttings which detailed Gerald's attempts to get the town of Bournemouth, and then Poole, to allow him to open a zoo. "He was all set to go with Upton House but it fell through," said Lee. The cuttings reveal how strong the Durrell family connection is to Bournemouth; they returned to the town after their Greek adventure and later his sister, Margo, opened a boarding house in Charminster's St Alban's Avenue which was where Gerald kept his animal collection in the garage and where he wrote his best-seller in six weeks, sitting on one of the beds. He also kept a small menagerie in the basement of the J J Allen department store and was in the Echo again when a number of his monkeys escaped, some making it as far away as The Crescent in Boscombe. Gerry Breeze, who helped Gerald during that time, said: "Every day was an adventure." *If you have any memories or memorabilia of Gerald Durrell in Bournemouth, please contact faith.eckersall at bournemouthecho.co.uk -- ******************************************** Charles L. Sligh Assistant Professor Department of English University of Tennessee at Chattanooga charles-sligh at utc.edu ******************************************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sumantranag at gmail.com Tue Oct 23 03:13:17 2012 From: sumantranag at gmail.com (Sumantra Nag) Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:43:17 +0530 Subject: [ilds] Fw: ILDS Digest, Vol 66, Issue 3_Rereading The Alexandria Quartet Message-ID: <9B9EDC5AB16843958F2DF32F089947DB@abc> > Message: 2 > Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2012 10:06:21 -0400 > From: Charles Sligh > (Jan Morris) Rereading: The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell ----------------------------------- Dear Charles, Thank you for sending the link. I seem to have overlooked this specific post when you first sent it. I participated in The Guardian Reading and now remember reading the piece by Jan Morris. Personally, I thought Jan Morris had recognized the strongly evocative qualities of Durrell's writing. She also noted the particularly central position of the city in the novels of the AQ. She appeared to conclude with the view that the flaws now perceived in Durrell's writing, would not diminish the captivating effect of novels. I think the relative neglect of Lawrence Durrell and particularly The Alexandria Quartet apparent among today's readers and critics is related to changing tastes and the effects of these changing tastes are probably reflected in what Jan Morris has written. There is also a problem of generation, perhaps. My tastes still resonate to Durrell's writing and I still respond to the quality and style of prose when I read a novel. The result is that these days I often give up on novels if the prose doesn't in some way hold my attention. Form over content? Perhaps, in my case at least. But in the world of fiction today, I just have an idea that content is perhaps more important than form. A sweeping and reckless comment perhaps! But even way back in 1967 as a university student in England, I remember hearing both supportive and dismissive views about The Alexandria Quartet expressed at the same time in my presence, while in the informal company of very eminent students of English literature who happened to be holding opposing views! Best wishes Sumantra >--------------------------------------------------------- > Message: 2 > Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2012 10:06:21 -0400 > From: Charles Sligh > To: > Subject: [ilds] Rereading: The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell > (Jan Morris) > > Dear Sumantra: > > A pleasure to see your note. Find the Jan Morris piece here: > > Rereading: The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell > > > > I took a rather strong position on this curious introduction at the > British Library this summer. I do think that the piece is a bit more > revealing about Jan Morris' special capabilities and limits than about > Lawrence Durrell's. (Simon Ings was more direct. He called the intro > "a pompous, contemptuous flob > .") > > Morris is a capable reporter, having done fine work in the Venice book > and the Pax Britannica trilogy. But I wonder if there is a mismatch of > her /m?tier/ and particular aesthetic sensibilities? Or even an > out-matching, or an over-reaching? It really begs the question. > > After all, no reader ever walked about with a Jan Morris sentence > haunting his memory. (Test case: There is no such thing as a "Jan > Morris sentence." By contrast, cf. "The sea is high again today, with a > thrilling flush of wind." or "You enter Greece as one might enter a dark > crystal; the form of things becomes irregular, refracted.") And no Jan > Morris book ever changed a reader's life, giving her an urgent reason to > go live among new peoples, to see their lands, to drink their wine and > to know their ways. > > I also wish Jan Morris had taken actual time and trouble to "re-read" > /The Alexandria Quartet/. Her obfuscations and faint praise make it all > too clear that she had little time for the book, and less sympathy. > > Charles From albigensian at hotmail.com Wed Oct 24 09:57:58 2012 From: albigensian at hotmail.com (Pamela Francis) Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:57:58 -0500 Subject: [ilds] James Clawson on Joyce In-Reply-To: <5085AE6D.7060609@gmail.com> References: <5085AE6D.7060609@gmail.com> Message-ID: Congrats to James Clawson! Nice work, James! --best, pamela > Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:37:01 -0700 > From: james.d.gifford at gmail.com > To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca > Subject: [ilds] James Clawson on Joyce > > Hello all, > > Our own James Clawson has just contributed a public lecture on "'Dirty > Eaters': Bloom's Eco-Critical Cycles in Lestrygonians" to the Year of > Ulysses (YoU) project: > > http://web.uvic.ca/~mvp1922/dirtyeaters/#more-1307 > > Grand work, James! > > Now to an eco-critical reading of Durrell's island books? Landscape as > character? Engagement with the non-human? I'm suddenly tempted to > nibble on the city vs. the country in /Justine/... > > All best, > James > -- > --------------------------------------- > James Gifford, Ph.D. > Assistant Professor of English and University Core Director > School of English, Philosophy and Humanities > University College: Arts, Sciences, Professional Studies > Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vancouver Campus > Voice: 604-648-4476 > Fax: 604-648-4489 > E-mail: gifford at fdu.edu > http://alpha.fdu.edu/~jgifford > > 842 Cambie Street > Vancouver, BC V6B 2P6 > Canada > _______________________________________________ > ILDS mailing list > ILDS at lists.uvic.ca > https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From james.d.gifford at gmail.com Sun Oct 28 16:04:33 2012 From: james.d.gifford at gmail.com (James Gifford) Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2012 16:04:33 -0700 Subject: [ilds] ILDS Call for 2014 Conference Proposals Message-ID: <508DBA01.6040609@gmail.com> Hello all, I've attached the call for proposed sites for the 2014 conference of the ILDS: On Miracle Ground XVIII. Please forward it to anyone you think may be interested. Samples of previous proposals are attached as well. All best, James -- --------------------------------------- On Miracle Ground XVIII ? 2014 The Executive Board of the International Lawrence Durrell Society requests proposals from members interested in organizing or hosting the conference that the society will sponsor in summer 2014: "On Miracle Ground XVIII." Any proposal should include the reasons why the location is particularly suitable for a conference devoted to Durrell and study of his work?and/or attractive to and convenient for potential attendees. A proposal should also identify those who would undertake planning and implementing local arrangements for the conference and describe their qualifications, interests, and availability. Additionally, proposals should cover the following points: 1) Possible dates; 2) Transportation to and from the proposed site, as well as locally; 3) Description of possible meeting sites?their location and suitability; 4) Possibilities for sponsorship by institutions or organizations; 5) Quality and availability of hotel rooms, restaurants, & other facilities. Finally proposals should include estimates of expenses (a tentative budget) and possible sources for funding (grants and donations). Please send proposals to James Gifford, ILDS president, by e-mail attachment at and by 30 January 2013. -- --------------------------------------- James Gifford, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of English and University Core Director School of English, Philosophy and Humanities University College: Arts, Sciences, Professional Studies Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vancouver Campus Voice: 604-648-4476 Fax: 604-648-4489 E-mail: gifford at fdu.edu http://alpha.fdu.edu/~jgifford 842 Cambie Street Vancouver, BC V6B 2P6 Canada -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: proposal.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 227195 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: OMG XVII ? London 2012.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 84727 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ILDS Call for 2014 Conference Proposals.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 61989 bytes Desc: not available URL: