Oct 3-5, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, UC Berkeley.

This conference is a pendant to the recent UK conference on Militant Politics and Poetry at Birkbeck College (Saturday, 18 May 2013). It features a large number of US and UK scholar-poets.

The conference will take up from a variety of perspectives the relationship of poetry to political antagonism, one which has recently been reanimated through the extensive participation of poets in political militancy. There will be an opening plenary and discussion including a summary of and response to the Birkbeck conference, held at UC Santa Cruz. The second day will feature “scene reports”: from the UK poet-scholars on recent debates and on the situation in the UK, and from poetics scholars and poets involved with Bay Area political struggle — to be held at UC Davis. The third day will feature discussions about the situation going forward, including both theorizations of the poetry/politics relation, problems of identity and representation, and practical proposals for next activities — to be held at UC Berkeley. There will be poetry readings on each campus. Of interest to poets and to scholars of poetics, modern/contemporary British literature, British Studies, modern/contemporary US literature, Cultural Studies, Transatlantic, Political Science & Theory.

UC Santa Cruz • October 3, 2013

7-9 PM
Chris Chen, “Antagonism and/or Difference: Reading Race”
Jennifer Cooke, “Poetic Sensations: Bodies, Emotions & Change”
Poetry Reading: Wendy Trevino, Danny Hayward, Jasper Bernes, Jennifer Cooke, Juliana Spahr
Humanities 1, Room 210, Santa Cruz

UC Davis • October 4, 2013

10-12 PM
Report from six UK poet-scholars including organizers of the “Militant Poetry and Politics” conference at Birkbeck University
Voorhies Hall 126, Corner of First and A Streets, Davis

2-4 PM
Poetics & Ports: a report from eight poet-scholars involved in Occupy Oakland and Bay Area political organizing
Voorhies Hall 126, Corner of First and A Streets, Davis

7-9 PM
Offsite Poetry Reading: David Buuck, Keston Sutherland, Jill Richards, Marianne Morris, Chris Chen
Third Space, 946 Olive Drive at Richards Blvd., Davis

UC Berkeley • October 5, 2013

10-12 PM
Roundtable discussion of the relation between identity-based oppression and literary representation in militant poetics
Wheeler Hall 300, English Department Media Room

2-4 PM
Manifestos and/or practical proposals: 13 concise and eloquent considerations of the situation for revolution and/or poetry
Wheeler Hall 300, English Department Media Room

7-9 PM
Offsite Poetry Reading & Farewell Celebration: Sean Bonney, Imad Hassan, Francesca Lisette, Joshua Clover
Location announced at afternoon session
Made possible by generous support from the UCSC Department of Literature and the Institute for Humanities Research at Santa Cruz.

Conference blog with schedule PDF’s of readings:
http://revolutionandorpoetry.wordpress.com