International Conference on Poetry Studies
27 May 2017 – London, UK
organised by Interdisciplinary Research Foundation and London Centre for Interdisciplinary Research


Poetry is a constant, being produced by all known civilizations from ancient to modern times. Throughout this extensive history, poetry has been made to address a vast array of subject matters, including love, war, social issues, the beauty of nature etc. As poetry is meant to invoke experiences, it emphasizes the role of the senses, calling to mind memories and feelings in stirring and sometimes turbulent ways.

Poetry inspires as well as instructs. It sweeps away human thoughts, soothes human suffering and feeds human emotion. It ennobles, enlightens and entertains. It enters into the very depth of the human soul and lights up the dark corridor of human nature. Poetry acts as a great force through the pleasure it gives, because the expressive boundaries of poetry are virtually unlimited.

The conference aims to bring together international poets and scholars from diverse contexts and interdisciplinary fields to share their work. We invite manuscripts, performances, poetry, and other forms of presentations.

Areas of investigation may include, but are not limited to:

form and genre
scale in poetry
brevity and length
poetic sequences
units of measurement in poetry
form, proportion and balance
the immeasurable and/or non-measurable in poetry
beginnings and ends
poetry and other art forms: music, visual arts and/or craft; ekphrasis
poetry and architecture
poetry and mathematics
language-centered poetics (including Language- and post-Language writing)
performance-based poetics
the political character of the aesthetic
(non-)originality/individuality/voice amidst technical innovation
subject-construction in poetry
ecopoetics
New Narrative
hybrid & cross-genre poetic modes
conceptual and post-conceptual poetry
poetic and poetic/artistic collaborations

Paper proposals up to 250 words and a brief biographical note should be sent by 15 April 2017 to: poetry@irf-network.org. Please download paper proposal form.

Registration fee – 100 GBP

Conference venue: Monticello House, 45 Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London, WC1B 4JP, UK