“Vita and Virginia” on stage in England Nov. 22
The First Stages Theatre Company presents a reading ‘Vita and Virginia’ Nov. 22, at 3 p.m. at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope, England. Tickets are available through the theatre’s box office, 20 Queen St., by phone at 905-885-1071 or 1-800-434 5092, or online at www.capitoltheatre.com. Read more.
Beyond Bloomsbury: Designs of Omega Workshop 1913-1919
This exhibition at London’s Courtauld Gallery opens June 18 and runs through Sept. 20. It is billed as a major event for those interested in the Bloomsbury Group.
According to the gallery’s Web site, “This exhibition explores a radical chapter in the history of 20th century British design. Established in 1913 by the painter and influential art critic Roger Fry, the Omega Workshops were an experimental design collective, whose members included Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and other artists of the famous Bloomsbury Group.”
Get details about events related to the exhibition. Read a review of the exhibit on Artdaily.org and another in the Oxford Times.
Julia Margaret Cameron Exhibit in Portland July 4 – Sept. 7
The Portland Museum of Art has an exhibit of one of Julia Margaret Cameron’s photo albums. Images from “For My Best Beloved Sister Mia”: An Album of Photographs by Julia Margaret Cameron, a rarely seen and privately owned album, will be on view July 4 through Sept. 7. Get more details about the exhibit at the Portland, Maine museum.
International Virginia Woolf Society Event:
19th Annual International Conference on Virginia Woolf
June 4-7, 2009
Fordham University, Lincoln Center, New York, N. Y., U.S.A.
Theme: Woolf and the City
Paper and Panel Proposals: Due by Feb. 1, 2009
Alternative proposals such as workshops or readings are also welcome. Independent scholars, high school teachers, and “common readers” are encouraged to submit proposals. Please send 250 word abstracts as Word attachments with a separate sheet indicating name(s), institutional affiliation(s) and e-mail address(es).
Get the Call for Papers.
For more information, click here, visit the 19th Annual International Conference Web site or contact Anne E. Fernald’s graduate assistant Sarah Cornish at .sarahcornish@gmail.com
Host a conference
Interested in organizing a future annual Woolf conference on your campus? Contact Professor Mark Hussey atmhussey@pace.edu for details.
“Afterlives” of Woolf and Bloomsbury events
Get details about these events, which take place April through June 2009. Click here.
Spring book talks on Woolf and the City at NYC’s Mercantile Library
Common readers in New York City may be interested in joining a Virginia Woolf reading group this spring on the theme of “Woolf and the City.” Anne Fernald will lead the group, which will meet for four Monday sessions: April 6, April 20, May 4 and May 22. Each session will meet from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Mercantile Library. Read more.
March 12 lecture at Grolier Club has Woolf link
“Vernon Lushington: Pre-Raphaelite, Friend of William Morris and Father of Mrs. Dalloway” is the topic of a Thursday, March 12, lecture by David Taylor of Roehampton University at New York City’s Grolier Club at 6 p.m. A reception will follow. Get more details and purchase tickets here.
March 6 “Bloomsbury ‘Family Values’” and Woolf in NYC
Jean Mills, assistant professor of English at City University of New York, will speak on “Bloomsbury ‘Family Values’: Circles of Trust in the Life and Work of Virginia Woolf“ on March 6, 7:30 to 9 p.m. at The Center for Psychoanalytic Studies, 16 W. 10th Street in New York City. The lecture is free, but an R.S.V.P. is requested. To do so, call 212-260-7050. For more information, download the flier.
Freshwater opened in New York on Virginia’s birthday
The first U.S production of Woolf’s only play, Freshwater, opened on her birthday, Jan. 25. Read the full story and more details here. Get a report on the 2009 celebrations. Then read Blogging Woolf’s first post about the production.
Events at Duke University
Vision and Design: A Year of Bloomsbury

- Sept. 16, 2008: Bloomsbury, Gender and Sexuality
A panel discussion on gender and sexuality as the key elements in experimental thinking and living within the Bloomsbury Group
For audio and video of this session, go to iTunes U at:
http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/new.duke.edu.1671370640 - Oct. 30, 2008, 4-6 p.m.: Bloomsbury, Empire, and the Cosmopolitan
A scholarly examination of Bloomsbury’s continuing influence on imperium - Nov. 1, 2008, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.: Creative Communities: Bloomsbury and Others
A scholarly examination of forces that unite people in vibrant conversation to produce creative results - Nov. 19, 2008, 7-8 p.m.: Duke Reads Howards End
Vice Provost Judith Ruderman leads an online discussion of E.M. Forster’s classic novel with NPR’s Frank Stasio - Dec. 15, 2008 – May 2009
“How full of life those days seemed”: New Approaches to Art, Literature, Sexuality, and Society in Bloomsbury
An exhibition of books, manuscripts, and other items related to the Bloomsbury Group and the Hogarth Press in the Perkins Library - Dec. 18, 2008 – April 15, 2009
A Room of Their Own: The Bloomsbury Artists in American Collections
Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University
An exhibition of paintings, works on paper, decorative arts, and book arts borrowed from public and private collections throughout the United States. - Jan. 29, 2009: Bloomsbury Exhibition Panel
Led by Nancy Green, curator, at the Nasher Museum of Art - Feb. 11, 2009: John Maynard Keynes of Bloomsbury
Four leading historians of thought will explore the place of the renowned economist within Bloomsbury and offer an assessment of his legacy. - Feb. 27–28, 2009 : Duke in Depth: Bloomsbury Vision & Design
A weekend of panel discussions on Bloomsbury and America, a private viewing of the Nasher exhibition, staged readings of letters, interpretive rendering of Virginia Woolf’s The Waves, period dinners, and more. - March 19 and 26, April 2, 2009: Film Series at the Nasher
Feature length films and documentaries exploring themes and influences in Bloomsbury art and life
For general enquiries about Vision and Design: A Year of Bloomsbury, contact Diane Pettus. For information about the Duke-in-Depth weekend, Feb. 27-28, 2009, contact Beth Ray-Schroeder.
Other U.S. Events
Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture
Feb. 19-21, 2009
University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A.
Susan Gubar will give the critical keynote address.
Get more details about the conference.
The International Virginia Woolf Society sponsors a Woolf panel at the conference. Find out who the presenters will be, as well as their topics.