So apparently the whole "doing a post a day" idea was not meant to be... That's ok... I like the idea of less pressure with these posts! I'm also so glad I'm doing them so I'll have a memory of this semester when it's over... as we can't trust my real memory!!
This is a weird and ambitious weekend... it's not the most convenient location... I had to leave *wicked* early Friday (for the 2nd weekend in a row, mind you) to make a panel I was chairing... and my route involved the Tube, a train to Lancaster, and then a bus from town to campus. Sheesh! And then to top it off, I'm making things more complicated tomorrow. The conference ended this evening. And I decided to hit the Lake District tomorrow and make a holiday of it. BUT that means I add a bus and train north... then train back to Lancaster and bus and then back to London. Whew!! I've been tired in advance all weekend thinking about tomorrow. But I always loved the area, love the Romantic poets, and found a fun little tour around to all the bits I didn't see my last time up...including a boat on the Lake. C: So I'm sure it'll be worth it!
As far as yesterday and today and the actual conference... It was pretty much as conferences tend to be. I mean this in a good way... C:
I arrived in time to check in and stretch my legs a bit before the panel I was chairing on "Liberating Diversity." The conference theme, btw, was "Writing for Liberty" through the university's Centre for Transcultural Writing and Research... and it was a fantastically diverse and global group of people here... largely profs from unis all over the place: the UK, US, Africa and Europe... Anyway, back to the first panel I was involved with... There had been some drama as 2 of the 3 panelists were unable to attend. One couldn't get funding from South Africa and another had an illness in the family. I was concerned about what to do with only one panelist. That was a new one!! But it worked out great! One mia attendee had someone read her paper, and then at the last one someone read from the other's work (creative writing) as well. So we cobbled together a full panel at the end. One critical essay and two creative ones... and I'm going to get a copy of one's work as a door prize! I'm excited about that because the stories were great. (An anthology called Queer Africa!) I was also curious... not worried so much anymore... about the q & a after with the stand ins. So I crafted some questions that were largely not needed as the audience was full of questions anyway...
Today I presented my own paper... and was the only 19th century Americanist lemme tell you... But I was discussing Irving and food as a move toward cultural liberty from the British... and the other panelist discussed water imagery in a book about Indian untouchables... The water and food linked what would otherwise have been very disparate subjects. But there were overlaps. C:
And I stayed around the conference more than I expected to. Everyone has been really great! And there have been all the fun dinners and happy hours and such... (All the fun stuff!) So it's been a long and productive few days!
Had a brief chance to walk around Lancaster itself this evening... and another attendee and I almost literally stumbled into a pub where a live band was playing Irish music. Excellent!! All locals and families and such!
And after all that it's still a bit of an early night. I get caught up on this blog... and then pack and get ready for tomorrow!!! C:
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