A public lecture on visionary artist and poet William Blake will be hosted by the University of Essex as part of the major international conference Myth, Literature and the Unconscious being held at the beginning of September.
Professor Jason Whittaker from University College Falmouth will speak on The Divine Image: Remaking Blake’s Myths at 7pm on Thursday 2 September in the Ivor Crewe Lecture Hall at Colchester Campus.
The event, which is open to all, is being sponsored by The Bean Trust, based at the University of Essex, which aims to encourage research into the work of William Blake.
The public’s continuing interest in Blake has been reaffirmed this month by Tate Britain’s decision to place eight newly acquired etchings by the artist at the heart of the rehanging of its Romantic collection.
Professor Whittaker is a former editor of computer magazine PC Advisor and continues to write on technology for a range of publications, but the dominant influence on his life is William Blake.
He has written and co-authored three books on Blake alongside a number of articles and reviews.
The lecture is part of a three day conference organised by the University’s Centre for Myth Studies with the support of the Department for Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies and the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies.
More than 70 leading academics from around the world will be making presentations.
Speakers include novelist and cultural historian Marina Warner from the University of Essex who will provide the opening address and keynote speaker Professor Steven F. Walker from Rutgers University - author of Jung and the Jungians on Myth.
The plenary panel on Friday 3 September will see Robert Segal from the University of Aberdeen in discussion with writer, film critic and psychotherapist Eric Rhode.
Dr Sanja Bahun, from the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies, said: ‘We are proud to host health professionals and academics from all kinds of disciplines. This conference emphatically confirms the University's commitment to interdisciplinarity and international outreach.’
For more information visit: www.essex.ac.uk/lifts/events/Mythic.aspx/
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