In a surprise announcement, Zhaoming Qian, told how he had found a recording of a lecture made in 1957 by Marianne Moore (1887 - 1972), the content of which was thought to have been lost. Dr. Qian played excerpts of the recording, thrilling conference attendees with the news they were the first group to hear her words in more than fifty years.
The announcement was made at the Third International Conference on Modernism and the Orient during the weekend of June 4-7, 2010. which convened in at the San Tai Hotel in Hangzhou, China. Scholars from around the world met and discussed modernist writers and how the Oriental culture affected their writing.
The works of Ezra Pound, Marianne Moore, Richard Wright, William Faulkner and a host of other literary luminaries were dissected and analyzed, as university experts searched for mention of anything that could be considered oriental. Works were compared and contrasted as the modern writers were subjected to examinations using techniques that bordered on the post-modern.
Dr. Qian, who teaches at the University of New Orleans is also the founder and director of the Center for Modernist Studies at Zhexiang University, one of the sponsors of the conference. On his last trip back to China Qian decided to make a detour to Oakland where Moore's lost lecture had been given. The lecture, which was based on her essay Integrity and Tedium, was a tribute to the Tao, which in her words stands for “Integrity", and a critique of post-modern American poetry which she called “Tedium".
International Conference Speakers Presented Academic Examples of Modern Literature
In the first plenary session, Sabine Sielke from the University of Bonn, discussed how Emily Dickinson and Moore, represented the modernist voice of the often overlooked gender. Presenting a strong case for the validity of these women who did not often agree with each other, Sielke said, "Transcendentalists believe poetry can bridge the gap between self and other. ”
Harvard professor Daniel Albright discussed Yeats, Pound, Asia, and the Music of the Body. His lecture roamed from heaven to hell, mentioned celestial and sexual in the same sentence and described the playing of a nose flute. Explaining that he had once played the flute, Albright said, “The flute is a kind of light turned into sound.” Unusual metaphors, snippets of music and eclectic quotes substantiated his claim that, "The purpose of literature is to represent life as we know it."
The international mix of presenters spawned diverse ideas and perspectives. With references from common university literature readings to lost works now found, academics gathered to share and debate the influence of Asia on modern literature. Perhaps the greatest exchange will be cultural with a recognition of the sameness of the human condition in every nation.
More information about this conference and upcoming events may be found at the Center for Modernist Studies website.
Mistie Shaw - Writing for nearly half a century, Shaw's interests and education meander from music to the military, and from faith to fun.
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