Work-in-Progress Seminar Series: Alex Payne, Eleni Anna Bozini and Benoît Loiret In brief Date - 28 February 2024 Venue - Room LG.06, 40 George Square Speakers - Alex Payne (Scandinavian Studies), Eleni Anna Bozini (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Benoît Loiret (French and Francophone Studies/Comparative Literature) About the event At our third event of the 2023 to 2024 academic year, we are joined by three speakers, from within and outwith the University: Alex Payne (Scandinavian Studies): 'Environment as a Means of Othering in the Vinland Sagas' Eleni Anna Bozini (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens): 'Investigating the wound in the work of George Seferis and Anne Carson; the potential and the challenges posed by an interdisciplinary study' Benoît Loiret (French and Francophone Studies/Comparative Literature): 'Yves Bonnefoy and musicians: music, poetry, silence' Alex Payne Climate change remains a key theory behind the collapse of the medieval Norse colony in Greenland. In this presentation I will explore underlying developments in the depiction of ethnic others in the Old Norse literary canon, highlighting the Vinland Sagas, and how this could be correlated with recently available climate data. The Vinland Sagas have become ubiquitous within the popular conscience, with the character Leif Eriksson now an unshakable footnote to Columbus’ legacy. However, as tales of exploration on the North American continent, they remain enigmatic in their descriptions of Indigenous peoples. Indeed, the simultaneously terse but magical realist quality of the prose leaves much to a reader’s imagination. To help unpick possible traces of historical reality from this literary matrix, I intend to utilise theories of geographic othering. The focus will be on depictions of the Scandinavian farmstead, alongside Norse-Sámi relations in the Scandinavian homelands, to provide a framework for better understanding the Norse-Indigenous dynamic. In so doing I will explore the link between a Norse self-conception as a community of farmsteaders projecting their perceptions of difference onto both landscapes and ethnic groups beyond their sphere of influence. The immediate implication of these findings supports theories of othering in literary contexts beyond Scandinavia proper; There is a correlation here with recent archaeological papers theorising on knowledge transmission in the Greenland colony. If established, the link between ethnic othering and landscape in this material will provide an opportunity to add the temporal element of a changing climate to future research. Eleni Anna Bozini The imagery of bodily wounds in poetry could be regarded both as visual marks of violence, a metaphor for mental trauma, as well as a literary trope of modernist and postmodernist poetry. In terms of primary texts, this theoretical hypothesis is tested through the comparative study of the work of a Greek modernist poet, George Seferis to that of Anne Carson, a contemporary Canadian writer and translator. In this work-in-progress presentation, I aim to present and discuss my main hypothesis, which is that the imagery of a physical wound is much more far reaching than a powerful ekphrasis. Instead, my research suggests that the wound is a most fruitful way to situate poetry within its cultural context. Moreover, the wound imagery can serve in examining more closely the concept of subjectivity though focusing on cases in which the boundaries between the outer and inner body are compromised, both through the opening of a physical wound, as well as in the sense of mental trauma that disrupts the metaphorical “outer skin” of subjectivity. Lastly, attending to the wound can accentuate the blurriness of our perception of the body and the mind, that is, of the purely physiological and of the mental. Benoît Loiret Music occupies a peculiar place in the works of French poet, translator, and art critic, Yves Bonnefoy (1923-2016). Some direct references to Mozart’s operas, or more generally to the act of singing, can be found in his poems. In his critical works, too, music is a recurring element, whether the object of the texts be visual arts or poetry (it is only rarely the main object of a text). The later critical works, particularly, feature an increasing number of references to musical works or even to the idea of music. The publication, in 2007, of 'L’Alliance de la poésie et de la musique' (The Alliance of Poetry and Music) attests to this evolution. Despite this evident thematic recurrence, a close reading of Bonnefoy’s writing reveals that the music of composers constantly evades these texts. For instance, the 1991 lecture “Mozart en son point du monde” (“Mozart’s Standpoint in the World”) is devoted to the Austian composer, but the reflection on the opera Don Giovanni leaves music outside of its scrutiny in favour of the libretto. References to Gustav Mahler also prove to avoid the aural qualities of the composer’s music, or rather to reduce them to one aural phenomenon: it is assimilated to silence. Even when Bonnefoy tackles as precise an example as contralto singer Kathleen Ferrier’s performance of Mahler’s The Song of the Earth, he appears to place silence at the core of his appreciation. Music, the music of composers, thus consistently trumps any reduction into words in Bonnefoy’s writings. It may be, as Vladimir Jankélévitch argues, because it is “ineffable”. It is also because, in Bonnefoy’s works, it represents poetry itself, another reality whose essence is always out of the reach of language, and which Bonnefoy equally carefully never describes. Browse our speakers' student profiles on the University website Alex Payne About the seminar series The Work-in-Progress Seminar Series aims at bringing together staff, students, and the wider community to discuss and engage with the research produced by postgraduate students throughout the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures. Join us for a thriving interdisciplinary seminar and knowledge exchange event, in a relaxed and welcoming environment to develop ideas and collaborations. Refreshments will be provided at the end of each session. How to attend This event is free to attend and open to all. No registration is needed, feel free just to come along. Do you want to present at our next Work-in-Progress seminar? Apply now by emailing the organisers Feb 28 2024 16.30 - 19.00 Work-in-Progress Seminar Series: Alex Payne, Eleni Anna Bozini and Benoît Loiret An in-person seminar from PhD candidates in Scandinavian Studies, French and Francophone Studies/Comparative Literature, and one visiting researcher on their current varied research projects. Room LG.06 40 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9JX Find the venue
Work-in-Progress Seminar Series: Alex Payne, Eleni Anna Bozini and Benoît Loiret In brief Date - 28 February 2024 Venue - Room LG.06, 40 George Square Speakers - Alex Payne (Scandinavian Studies), Eleni Anna Bozini (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Benoît Loiret (French and Francophone Studies/Comparative Literature) About the event At our third event of the 2023 to 2024 academic year, we are joined by three speakers, from within and outwith the University: Alex Payne (Scandinavian Studies): 'Environment as a Means of Othering in the Vinland Sagas' Eleni Anna Bozini (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens): 'Investigating the wound in the work of George Seferis and Anne Carson; the potential and the challenges posed by an interdisciplinary study' Benoît Loiret (French and Francophone Studies/Comparative Literature): 'Yves Bonnefoy and musicians: music, poetry, silence' Alex Payne Climate change remains a key theory behind the collapse of the medieval Norse colony in Greenland. In this presentation I will explore underlying developments in the depiction of ethnic others in the Old Norse literary canon, highlighting the Vinland Sagas, and how this could be correlated with recently available climate data. The Vinland Sagas have become ubiquitous within the popular conscience, with the character Leif Eriksson now an unshakable footnote to Columbus’ legacy. However, as tales of exploration on the North American continent, they remain enigmatic in their descriptions of Indigenous peoples. Indeed, the simultaneously terse but magical realist quality of the prose leaves much to a reader’s imagination. To help unpick possible traces of historical reality from this literary matrix, I intend to utilise theories of geographic othering. The focus will be on depictions of the Scandinavian farmstead, alongside Norse-Sámi relations in the Scandinavian homelands, to provide a framework for better understanding the Norse-Indigenous dynamic. In so doing I will explore the link between a Norse self-conception as a community of farmsteaders projecting their perceptions of difference onto both landscapes and ethnic groups beyond their sphere of influence. The immediate implication of these findings supports theories of othering in literary contexts beyond Scandinavia proper; There is a correlation here with recent archaeological papers theorising on knowledge transmission in the Greenland colony. If established, the link between ethnic othering and landscape in this material will provide an opportunity to add the temporal element of a changing climate to future research. Eleni Anna Bozini The imagery of bodily wounds in poetry could be regarded both as visual marks of violence, a metaphor for mental trauma, as well as a literary trope of modernist and postmodernist poetry. In terms of primary texts, this theoretical hypothesis is tested through the comparative study of the work of a Greek modernist poet, George Seferis to that of Anne Carson, a contemporary Canadian writer and translator. In this work-in-progress presentation, I aim to present and discuss my main hypothesis, which is that the imagery of a physical wound is much more far reaching than a powerful ekphrasis. Instead, my research suggests that the wound is a most fruitful way to situate poetry within its cultural context. Moreover, the wound imagery can serve in examining more closely the concept of subjectivity though focusing on cases in which the boundaries between the outer and inner body are compromised, both through the opening of a physical wound, as well as in the sense of mental trauma that disrupts the metaphorical “outer skin” of subjectivity. Lastly, attending to the wound can accentuate the blurriness of our perception of the body and the mind, that is, of the purely physiological and of the mental. Benoît Loiret Music occupies a peculiar place in the works of French poet, translator, and art critic, Yves Bonnefoy (1923-2016). Some direct references to Mozart’s operas, or more generally to the act of singing, can be found in his poems. In his critical works, too, music is a recurring element, whether the object of the texts be visual arts or poetry (it is only rarely the main object of a text). The later critical works, particularly, feature an increasing number of references to musical works or even to the idea of music. The publication, in 2007, of 'L’Alliance de la poésie et de la musique' (The Alliance of Poetry and Music) attests to this evolution. Despite this evident thematic recurrence, a close reading of Bonnefoy’s writing reveals that the music of composers constantly evades these texts. For instance, the 1991 lecture “Mozart en son point du monde” (“Mozart’s Standpoint in the World”) is devoted to the Austian composer, but the reflection on the opera Don Giovanni leaves music outside of its scrutiny in favour of the libretto. References to Gustav Mahler also prove to avoid the aural qualities of the composer’s music, or rather to reduce them to one aural phenomenon: it is assimilated to silence. Even when Bonnefoy tackles as precise an example as contralto singer Kathleen Ferrier’s performance of Mahler’s The Song of the Earth, he appears to place silence at the core of his appreciation. Music, the music of composers, thus consistently trumps any reduction into words in Bonnefoy’s writings. It may be, as Vladimir Jankélévitch argues, because it is “ineffable”. It is also because, in Bonnefoy’s works, it represents poetry itself, another reality whose essence is always out of the reach of language, and which Bonnefoy equally carefully never describes. Browse our speakers' student profiles on the University website Alex Payne About the seminar series The Work-in-Progress Seminar Series aims at bringing together staff, students, and the wider community to discuss and engage with the research produced by postgraduate students throughout the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures. Join us for a thriving interdisciplinary seminar and knowledge exchange event, in a relaxed and welcoming environment to develop ideas and collaborations. Refreshments will be provided at the end of each session. How to attend This event is free to attend and open to all. No registration is needed, feel free just to come along. Do you want to present at our next Work-in-Progress seminar? Apply now by emailing the organisers Feb 28 2024 16.30 - 19.00 Work-in-Progress Seminar Series: Alex Payne, Eleni Anna Bozini and Benoît Loiret An in-person seminar from PhD candidates in Scandinavian Studies, French and Francophone Studies/Comparative Literature, and one visiting researcher on their current varied research projects. Room LG.06 40 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9JX Find the venue
Feb 28 2024 16.30 - 19.00 Work-in-Progress Seminar Series: Alex Payne, Eleni Anna Bozini and Benoît Loiret An in-person seminar from PhD candidates in Scandinavian Studies, French and Francophone Studies/Comparative Literature, and one visiting researcher on their current varied research projects.
