The Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain offers many member benefits. One of them is a reading group for those who want to talk about the works of Virginia Woolf and some of her Bloomsbury friends and contemporaries.
Discussions, which take place either online or face to face, allow members to find connections, influences and similarities among the works read. Members discuss their experiences of reading the work, whether it’s their first or hundredth time, as well as what themes or motifs they notice and what they liked best or least and why.
Night and Day up next
Night and Day (1919) is the next Woolf work up for discussion. Date: Friday, August 30, 2024 Time: 5 p.m. BST or noon EST. Where: online
How to join the society
Email membershipvwsgb@gmail.com to join the society, or onlinevwsgb@gmail.com for further information and queries about the reading group.
NKP Theatre Company’s production of a 60-minute abridged adaptation of Eileen Atkins’ play Vita & Virginia will be on stage for one more performance this summer, this one in Cambridge in August.
Students in this summer’s Literature Cambridge course on Virginia Woolf and Childhood will view it for free, but some tickets are available to the general public.
About the play
Title of event: Vita and Virginia (abridged by NKP Theatre Company). 60 minutes. No interval. Brief description: Virginia Woolf meets fellow author Vita Sackville-West in London in the 1920s. They embark on a 20-year relationship that inspires one of Virginia’s most famous novels, Orlando. Abridged by the cast from the original play by Eileen Atkins, Vita and Virginia consists entirely of words spoken or written by Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf during their 20-year friendship. The production deftly brings to life the real letters and diaries of the two women, revealing deep friendship, wit and passion between the literary genius and the aristocratic yet middle-brow poet.
Credits: Vita Sackville-West: Emma Francis; Virginia Woolf: Ruth Cattell; directed and produced by Richard Delahaye.
Cambridge performance details
Date: Tuesday 6 August Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: Robinson College Chapel, Cambridge CB3 9AN Ticket Price and how to book:Free to members of the Literature Cambridge “Woolf and Childhood: summer course. A few tickets at £15 are for sale to those not attending the summer course. Book here.
What the reviews say
“A beautifully sensitive portrayal of a remarkable love story” – Claire Nicholson, chair of the Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain
“An astonishing piece of theatre” – FRINGE REVIEW
“Emma Francis and Ruth Cattell smash it!” – EDINBURGH REVIEWS
“A wondrous exploration of the epistolary side of their near-romance”. -BROADWAY WORLD
Background
Four performances of the play were held February through April. An earlier performance was held in November at the Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham.
In the Brighton tradition, it joins buses named after other remarkable residents, including Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell.
Members of the Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain get ready to hop aboard the Leonard Woolf bus in Brighton. Photo by Marielle O’Neill.
“It was with great pleasure that members of the VWSGB celebrated the newly-named Leonard Woolf bus in Brighton yesterday, ” said Claire Nicholson, society chair, the day after the group’s bus ride.
“Congratulations to Marielle O’Neill who led the campaign to have a bus dedicated to Leonard, which now joins its partner, the Virginia Woolf bus. If you visit Brighton, perhaps you might catch one of them!”
Thanks go out
The society thanks Maria Caulfield MP, Cllr Paul Mellor and the Board of Deputies of British Jews for their valuable support and to Brighton and Hove Bus Company for honouring Leonard Woolf. Thanks also go to Suren Paul, Chair of the Leonard Woolf Society, and Claire Nicholson for their encouragement.
“Leonard Woolf’s influence on politics from international relations with the League of Nations to local community activism in Brighton is significant,” O’Neill pointed out.
The cover of Issue No. 72 – January 2023 of the Virginia Woolf Bulletin features the Brighton & Hove Virginia Woolf bus.
“His pioneering publishing work with the Hogarth Press is also to be admired. I’m delighted to see the Leonard Woolf bus, which seems a suitable way of honouring Leonard given his commitment to community service and environmental sustainability.”
About the buses and routes
The bus is one of the brand new accessible Coaster buses that have two wheelchair bays, dementia friendly flooring and seating, audio and visual next-stop announcements and an onboard loop system.
The bus number is changeable but is most likely to be doing either 12/12A/12X or 14/14C routes. These buses all serve Sealife Centre, Old Steine, North Street and Brighton Station.
Members of the Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain raise a glass to the new Leonard Woolf bus in Brighton. Photo by Marielle O’Neill, second from right.
Join Woolf Salon No. 28: “Reading the Russians” on Friday, July 26, 2-4 p.m. EST.
Hosts: Georgy Liseyev and the Salon Conspirators Date: Friday, July 26 Time: 2–4 p.m. EST (New York) / 11 a.m.–1 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles) / 3–5 p.m. Brasilia / 7–9 p.m. BST (London) / 8–10 p.m. CEST (Paris) / 9–11 p.m. Ankara / Sat 3 a.m.–5 a.m. JST (Tokyo) / Sat 4 a.m.–6 a.m. AEST (Sydney). Please double check time zone conversions. Where: On Zoom How: Contact woolfsalonproject@gmail.com to sign up for the email list and receive the Zoom link.
The readings
The group looks forward to discussing two of Woolf’s many essays on Russian literature with you: “The Russian Point of View” and “The Novels of Turgenev”! Georgy will also share some translations that he’s been working on.
Please let the Salon Conspirators know if you have trouble accessing these texts. (Please note: the version of “The Novels of Turgenev” that appears on The Yale Review website differs substantially from theversion noted above; The Yale Review version is included in an Appendix to Essays [vol. 6].)
Anyone can join the group, which meets via Zoom and focuses on a single topic or text. Just contact woolfsalonproject@gmail.com to sign up for the email list and receive the Zoom link.
Background on the Salon
The Salon Conspirators — Benjamin Hagen, Shilo McGiff, Amy Smith, and Drew Shannon — began the Woolf Salon Project in July 2020 to provide opportunities for conversation and conviviality among Woolf-interested scholars, students, and common readers during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dalloway Day, the day when fans of Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel Mrs. Dalloway celebrate Clarissa Dalloway’s walk on a fine day “in the middle of June,” is being celebrated around the globe. Today, we will share details of Turkey’s all-day event.
What: Dalloway Day 2024 in Turkey
When: Wednesday, June 26, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. The exhibition will last one week.
Where: Adnan Ötüken Public Library (1922), Turkey’s first national library, Ankara, Turkey
Why: You are invited to the celebration of “Dalloway Day,” where you can richly explore Virginia Woolf’s house of fiction. This special event, created, curated and directed by Prof. Dr. Mine Özyurt Kılıç, will feature a seminar, an exhibition of Woolf books in Turkish, and an interactive reading marathon.
How: This free face-to-face event will be open to everyone ready to cherish arts and literature. The event will be in Turkish.
The Seminar
Immerse yourself in expert views on both the novel and its eponymous character in terms of their reception and evolution.
• Prof. Dr. Mine Özyurt Kılıç, along with Atahan Mahir Karabiber and Tuğba Çanakçı –the graduate students with research expertise in Woolf’s works– will present “Mrs. Dalloway and Mrs. Dalloways,” highlighting the evolution of the character.
• Assoc. Dr. Z. Gizem Yılmaz will delve into the depths of the novel and its film adaptation with a comparative analysis in her “Mrs. Dalloway: A Book and a Film.”
• Artist/Curator Can Akgümüş will discuss Woolf’s afterlife with an exploration of her
influence on contemporary art in Turkey in his “Virginia Woolf in Contemporary Arts.”
The Exhibition
• Witness Woolf’s literary journey in Turkish through a special curation of her books and discover the historical evolution of Mrs. Dalloway. This special exhibition will be available one week, starting June 26.
The Reading Marathon
Bring the novel to life by being one of the voices in Mrs. Dalloway.
