Poetry and the trace: an international conference
The study and practice of poetry is crucial to our society’s ability to reflect upon its self and its differing subjects and values. Poetry, in a range of style and ideas, can be described as the heartbeat of language; the place where attention is focused upon the act of looking at the world and the self.
Poetry and the Trace brought together a range of national and international poets and critics to discuss poetic impulse. The conference celebrated the many ways which poetry as a genre can question and drive our human experience. Focus was given to what Derrida described as the trace – be it of memory, desire, the past and the goal of ethics.
The conference inspired ongoing dialogues between poetries from different regions. It also encouraged debate about the role of contemporary poetries and their histories both within Australian culture and beyond.
Date
13-16 July 2008
Venue
State Library of Victoria, Melbourne
Program
The Poetry and the Trace: an International Conference program
37 kb
Keynote speakers
- Professor Rachel Blau DuPlessis (English, Temple University)
- Lionel Fogarty (Poet)
- John Kinsella (Poet)
- Peter Minter (Lecturer, Indigenous Studies and Poetics, Koori Centre, University of Sydney)
- Professor Joan Retallack (Humanities, Bard College)
- Professor Susan Stewart (English, Princeton University)
- John Tranter (Author)
Invited speakers
- Michael Francis C. Andrada (Lecturer, University of the Philippines)
- Soeren Hattesen Balle (lecturer, Department of Language and Culture, Aalborg University, Denmark)
- Emily Bitto (graduate student and sessional teacher,School of Culture and Communication,University of Melbourne)
- Professor Rachel Blau DuPlessis (English, Temple University)
- Kim Cheng Boey (Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Newcastle)
- Melissa Boyde (Research Fellow, School of English Literatures, Philosophy and Languages, University of Wollongong)
- Bernadette Brennan (Lecturer in Australian Literature, University of Sydney)
- Anne Brewster (Lecturer, University of New South Wales, Sydney)
- David Brooks (Lecturer, Australian Literature, University of Sydney)
- Bonny Cassidy (PhD Student, Department of English, University of Sydney)
- Julie Chevalier (MA in Writing (by research) at UTS and Teacher, NSW Writers Centre, WEA, Sydney)
- Professor Wystan Curnow (English Lecturer, University of Auckland)
- Josh Dubrau (PhD Student, UNSW)
- Amy Espeseth (PhD Student, School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne)
- Sally Evans (Creative Writing and Gender Studies, University of Wollongong)
- Steve Evans (lecturer in English, Flinders University)
- Kate Fagan (Songwriter and Editor)
- Michael Farrell (PhD Student, University of Melbourne)
- Emily Finlay (PhD student, University of Sydney)
- Lionel Fogarty (Poet)
- Tom Ford (Policy and Planning, Monash University)
- Anna Gibbs (Writer)
- Sue Gillett (Senior Lecturer in Literature, Film and Women’s Studies, La Trobe University, Bendigo)
- Keri Glastonbury (Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Newcastle)
- Melissa Jane Hardie (Lecturer, English Department, University of Sydney)
- Martin Harrison (Lecturer in Writing and Poetry, University of Technology, Sydney)
- Sarah Holland-Batt (MPhil Student, University of Queensland)
- Ivy Ireland (Ph.D student, the University of Newcastle)
- Andrew Johnson (Language and Learning, Monash University)
- Jill Jones (Writer)
- Patrick Jones (Poet)
- Adrian Jones (PhD Student, Department of English, University of Sydney)
- Associate Professor Jane Joritz-Nakagawa (Aichi University of Education, Central Japan)
- John Kinsella (Poet)
- Nick Keys (Retired)
- Sue King-Smith (PhD in Creative Arts, Deakin University)
- Stephen Lawrence (Poetry Editor,Wet Ink Magazine)
- Tom Lee (Poet)
- Kate Lilley (Lecturer, English Department, University of Sydney)
- Astrid Lorange (PhD Student, UTS)
- Neale Macdonald (PhD Student, Department of English, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand)
- Anuradha (Dona) Malalasekera (Masters of Arts (Research) Student in English)
- Aaron Mannion (PhD Student, University of Melbourne)
- Adrian Martin (Senior Research Fellow in Film and Television Studies, Monash University)
- Bridie McCarthy (Publications Officer, Australian Poetry Centre and Research Assistant, Victoria University)
- Fiona McColl (Writer)
- David McCooey (Senior Lecturer in Literature, Deakin University, Geelong)
- Keiji Minato (Lecturer, Ritsumeikan University and Hanazono University, Kyoto, Japan)
- Pooja Mittal (Masters Student, Monash University)
- Derek Motion (PhD Student, Charles Sturt University)
- Nina Philadelphoff-Puren (Lecturer, School of English, Communications and Performance Studies, Monash University)
- Marcella Polain (Lecturer, Edith Cowan University)
- Joan Retallack (Poet)
- Kelvin Rodrigues (PhD Student, Flinders University)
- Robyn Rowland (Deputy Chair of the Board, Australian Poetry Centre and an
- Honorary Fellow, School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne)
- Keith Russell (Academic and Poet)
- Elif Sezen (PhD Student, Faculty of Art and Design, Monash University)
- Professor Susan Sheridan (Adjunct Professor of English and Women’s Studies, Flinders University)
- Professor Hazel Smith (Research Professor, Writing and Society Research Group, University of Western Sydney)
- Susan Stewart (Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets)
- Heather Taylor Johnson (Poet and Author)
- Richard Tipping (Lecturer, School of Design, Communication and IT, University of Newcastle, Australia)
- Lindsay Tuggle (PhD Student, University of Sydney)
- Lyndon Walker (Masters Student, Deakin University)
- Joy Wallace (Lecturer, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst)
- Simon West (Poet)
- Jessica Wilkinson (PhD Student, University of Melbourne)
- Elizabeth Wilson (Lecturer, Department of English, University of Auckland, New Zealand)
- Tim Wright (Poet)
- Lorraine Yang Zhenping (Teaching Assistant and Research Scholar, Department of English Language and Literature, National University of Singapore)
Conference dinner
Young and Jackson's, 15 July 2008
Podcasts
Titles of papers link directly to mp3 files. If you require a transcription please contact the School of English, Communications and Performance Studies.
| Speaker | Title of paper | mp3 file size |
| Various Speakers | ‘Poetry and the Trace’, an international poetry conference |  27.6 mb |
Contact
Convenors
- Dr John Hawke (Monash University)
- Dr Rose Lucas (Monash University)
- Dr Ann Vickery (Monash University)
- Irene Thavarajah (Monash University)
- Helen McLean (Monash University)