Posted in fashion, feminism, Vita Sackville-West, World War II, tagged Feminist Modernist Studies, free access, Vita Sackville-West, WWII on Thursday 11 January 2018| Leave a Comment »
Due to the high level of interest in the inaugural issue of Feminist Modernist Studies (1:1-2),
Short essays in the volume examine the state of and future of feminist modernist studies in global women writers, “intermodernism,” African-American and queer studies.
Longer essays explore transgender and Vita Sackville West; refugees in Olive Moore; feminist modernism in the worlds of fashion, WWII union organizing, psychoanalysis, sculpture, dance, Afro-Caribbean crossings, and much more.
Posted in call for papers, tagged call for papers, Virginia Woolf, Woolf and spirituality on Tuesday 9 January 2018| Leave a Comment »
From the VWoolf Listserv comes this call for papers.
Virginia Woolf’s atheism and her sharp criticism of religion are well-established in the critical 
The call for papers for this collections seeks papers on the following:
Submit abstracts of approximately 500 words by March 1, 2018, to Kristina K. Groover, Professor of English, Appalachian State University, at grooverkk@appstate.edu <mailto:grooverkk@appstate.edu>).
Inquiries are welcome.
Posted in About Woolf, Bloomsbury, Leonard Woolf, Monk's House, Mrs. Dalloway, Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf, war, women, women's history, Woolf bibliography, tagged Bloomsbury, Charleston, Leonard Woolf, Monk's House, Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf, Woolf and dogs on Monday 8 January 2018| Leave a Comment »
This Christmas day, I unwrapped a present from my landlady and, completely unexpectedly, a small purple hardback book with gold lettering and a beautiful portrait of Virginia Woolf fell onto my lap. I was delighted, and proceeded to read it cover to cover amidst wrapping paper and ended up holding back tears to prevent myself being utterly embarrassed in front of my in-laws.
© Zena Alkayat and Nina Cosford
Virginia Woolf (Life Portraits) by Zena Alkayat and Nina Cosford poetically weaves the story of Woolf’s life with Alkayat’s considered text and Cosford’s illustrations, a fresh response to the Bloomsbury aesthetic. It opens with the following quote from Mrs Dalloway:
She sliced like a knife through everything; at the same time was on the outside, looking on.
This liminality, both the relation between work and life and Woolf’s psychological flux, is represented thoughtfully throughout the biography.
© Zena Alkayat and Nina Cosford
Alkayat focuses on the personal details of life: how Vanessa Bell’s sheepdog Gurth accompanied her “street haunting”, how Leonard and Virginia Woolf spent nights during the First World War in their coal cellar sitting on boxes, and that they later named their car “the umbrella”. She also puts us on a first name basis with Virginia, Vanessa and Duncan, et al. – a choice which made me feel closer to their world.
© Nina Cosford
Cosford’s illustrations are both sensitive to the Bloomsbury style and offer a fresh perspective. Her bold lines and patterns used to illustrate the pages about Vanessa Bell’s cover designs for Virginia Woolf’s novels, for example, are edged with mark-making in the mode of Bell. Her use of colour also seems emotive, following the waves of high and low that punctuate the narrative. Her illustrations capture the paraphernalia of every-day life, from the objects atop Woolf’s writing desk – diary, hair grips, photo of Julia, sweets – to the plants in the garden at Monks House, bringing Virginia’s life closer to home.
© Nina Cosford
Illustration and text come together beautifully in this miniature autobiography and would provide any reader with a poetic and surprising escape into the life of Virginia Woolf.
Posted in books, events, Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain, tagged birthday lecture, Frances Spalding, The Illustrated Letters of Virginia Woolf, Virginia Woolf, Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain on Tuesday 2 January 2018| Leave a Comment »
Location for the talk is Waterstones, 82 Gower Street, London.
Tickets are £5 and £3 for students and are available online or by telephone 020 7636 1577.
