The Progressive Verse of Dawson Jackson and ASJ Tessimond
| Dates: | 4 April 2017 |
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| Times: | 12:00 - 13:00 |
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| What is it: | Forum |
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| Organiser: | John Rylands Research Institute |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, Adults, Alumni, Current University students, General public, Secondary schools |
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| Speaker: | Imogen Durant |
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John Tessimond and Dawson Jackson are poets whose work complicates the popular understanding of the 1930s and 1940s as a nadir for British poetry. Research of key source material in the Dawson Jackson Papers at the John Rylands will inform this talk's discussion of the marginalisation of these poets from their contemporary literary scene and their omission from the critical narrative of the poetry of the period. Despite this lack of critical attention, Jackson and Tessimond's compelling explorations of radical and ecological concerns ensure that their poetry speaks to modern audiences. This talk will consider the ways in which their roles as literary outliers enable Jackson and Tessimond to offer unique perspectives on the social function of poetry during a period of crisis in Britain.
Speaker
Imogen Durant
Role: PhD Student
Organisation: John Rylands Research Institute
Biography: Imogen Durant is currently undertaking a PhD on the 20th Century British Poets John Tessimond and Dawson Jackson at the University of Manchester. She completed her MA in English and American Studies at Manchester in 2015, and her BA in English Literature in 2014. Her previous research has included work on British and American Countercultural writers, and she was Assistant Curator of the Off Beat exhibition at the John Rylands in 2016. As part of this project, Imogen helped to produce a digital network map displaying Jeff Nuttall’s international connections.
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
The Christie Room
John Rylands Research Institute and Library
150 Deansgate
Manchester
Gtr Manchester
