The T. S. Eliot International Summer School

4-12 July 2020, University of London

Director: Professor Anthony Cuda | Deputy Director: Elizabeth Micakovic

This summer, the T. S. Eliot International Summer School will once again convene in Bloomsbury, bringing together students and renowned scholars from around the world for a nine-day, immersive exploration of the life and work of T. S. Eliot. Held in the heart of literary London every July, the programme features original lectures, small-group seminars, readings by eminent writers, and special outings to theatres, libraries, and literary landmarks. The premiere venue for the study and research of Eliot and modernism, the School has attracted students from over 31 nations, a testament to the worldwide resurgence of Eliot studies as the Eliot Editorial Project provides students access to new editions of his poems, prose, and letters.

Since its founding 12 years ago, the Summer School has hosted lectures and readings by the late Nobel Prize Laureate Seamus Heaney, Pulitzer Prize winning poet Paul Muldoon, celebrated playwright Tom Stoppard, UK Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, and many more. This year, the inaugural address will be delivered by internationally acclaimed novelist Ian McEwan.

Programme

The School will formally open with an evening address by Ian McEwan on Saturday 4 July. A trip to Little Gidding follows on the Sunday, with events featuring Lyndall Gordon (St Hilda's College), Mark Ford (University College London), and others at the Annual Little Gidding Festival.

From Monday through Friday, students experience morning lectures from a distinguished list of Eliot scholars, including Frances Dickey (University of Missouri), Leonard Diepeveen (Dalhousie University), Nancy D. Hargrove (Mississippi State University), Matthew Hollis (Faber), Sarah Kennedy(Downing College, University of Cambridge), John Morgenstern (Clemson University), Ann Pasternak Slater (St Anne’s College, Oxford), Seamus Perry (Balliol College, University of Oxford), Patrick Query (United States Military Academy in West Point), Megan Quigley (Villanova University), Jahan Ramazani (University of Virginia), Hannah Sullivan (New College, University of Oxford).

Students choose one of a variety of afternoon seminars for a week-long, in-depth study under the guidance of prominent experts in the field of modernist and Eliot studies. The seminars for summer 2020 are:

• Frances Dickey, Early Poems and Criticism
• Leonard Diepeveen, The Waste Land and its Contexts 
• Patrick Query,  Later Poems and Criticism​
• Jahan Ramazani, Global Eliot
• John Morgenstern, Eliot and the Arts  
• Sarah Kennedy, Eliot and the Deed of Reading: Allusion, Anxiety, Metaphor, and Myth
• Hannah Sullivan, (optional seminar) One-Day Creative Writing Workshop

 (See full seminar descriptions on the website)

On Friday evening, there will be a poetry reading at the London Library, followed by a gala reception. On Saturday, students travel to Burnt Norton, for a picnic and the annual Burnt Norton Lecture, given this year by Frances Dickey. The School closes on Sunday with an optional mass at St Magnus Martyr and a guided walking tour by Carey Karmel and Mark Storey.

Students

The School welcomes students from all academic and non-academic backgrounds ‒ poets, artists, professionals, teachers, and life-long citizens of literature from every vocation who take delight in joining with students, faculty, and the wide community of Eliot readers for an exhilarating cultural and social experience.

Tuition Fees

The fee for the T. S. Eliot International Summer School will be £600 for the whole week, which includes the provision of documentary materials, sandwich lunches, coffee/tea breaks, poetry readings, organised coach trips and entrance fees to Little Gidding and Burnt Norton. The tuition fee does not cover the cost of accommodation, evening meals, or travel.

Scholarships

The School is proud to be able to offer generous scholarships to support its participants. In 2019, almost 80% of students received full or partial scholarships. The deadline for scholarship applications is 1 May 2020.

Applications

For application forms, programme information, and accommodation details, please visit: https://ies.sas.ac.uk/eliot

Contact

For further information, please contact Georgia Reeves, Eliot Summer School Administrator: Georgia.Reeves@sas.ac.uk.

For information about this year’s programme, please contact the Director: ajcuda@uncg.edu

For the latest announcements and news, follow us on Twitter @TSEliotschool and like our official Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/TSESummerschool/.