Five Bodies Workshop and Reading, May 2021: ‘On the Notational’ with Maureen N. McLane


Maureen N. McLane. Photo: Joanna Eldredge Morrissey

 

On Wednesday 12 May 2021, an international group of artists, writers and researchers gathered for the sixth and final time in the Five Bodies critical-creative workshops series, organised by the Critical Poetics Research Group in collaboration with Nottingham Contemporary.

This final workshop in the series was led by Maureen N. McLane, poet, critic, educator, and divagator and author of My Poets (2021), an experimental hybrid of memoir and criticism, and many other critical and creative works. Over the course of this workshop, Maureen guided the participants through an exploration of notetaking and the notational, drawing from the writing and thinking (and notes) of a range of notable figures, from Roland Barthes to Fed Wah. Participants were encouraged to take note of their surroundings and to share their notes, with Maureen encouraging us to see the notational anew.

Thank you to Maureen for this inspiring session, and to all those involved in putting together this series – especially our wonderful group of participants!

The following evening, the final instalment of the Five Bodies readings series saw brilliant readings from Lila Matsumoto, Mirene Arsanios and Maureen N. McLane, followed by a discussion chaired by CPRG member Jack Thacker. Thank you to the writers and everyone else involved in the series.