[ilds] Such a great conference

[Kennedy Gammage]

Thanks to all the dedicated volunteers who made it happen, most of all to
Isabelle. My question is: does anyone want to keep the discussion going,
and is this the proper venue to do that? I’m sure most of the participants
around the world are probably exhausted or sleeping right now. My cat and I
tuned-in during the 5 a.m. hour several times in Pacific Daylight Time. I
heard papers that excited the senses by scholars new to me – and ‘met’
people on Zoom I had heard about and read for years – plus old friends and
acquaintances in the ILDS – a group I am proud to belong to. Even though
I’m not a scholar (and a notorious terrible speller) I AM an avid Durrell
(and Nin and Miller) reader for decades as most of you are. We all have our
opinions – like: The Revolt is an amazing mashup! Gothic? Yes!
Pseudo-sci-fi? Check! (How could the ‘dummy’ be made of gutta-percha unless
it was somehow powered by the Abel proto-AI?) But also the swinging ‘60s!
Yet somehow it almost never mentions World War II unlike almost everything
else the man wrote?

I’ll admit I was skeptical about heterotopias – until Ian MacNiven cited
Karm Abu Girg as one! Ah…the lightbulb goes off. A total break from Alex.
All the Agon about the high moderns: Joyce and Eliot and Pound? Big fan!
But do we have to worry about categorizations like that? Did Durrell miss
the cut and land in Postmodernism? I believe the Quintet is also a mashup,
and unless postmodernism can accommodate “other time-fields or other
contingent realities” then we might need to broaden the definition into
sci-fi / fantasy territory.  No one calls the Quartet postmodern do they?
What would that even mean? Cheers to all the presenters and moderators!
What a great group. I have fallen in love with the ILDS again but I never
left. Certain key individuals were not visible and I hope you are all OK!

Best wishes – Ken
Proud Member, ILDS
(My Italy website www.travelogorrhea.com mentions Durrell and Douglas on
the postscript page.)
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