The Critical Poetics International Summer School
Critical Poetics: Care Of…
Online, 25 June – 3 July 2021
**The 2021 edition of the summer school took place online.**
Download the Full Programme View Public Events (Free to Attend)
Raymond Antrobus
Maya Chowdhry
Marion Coutts
Eva Haifa Giraud
Seán Hewitt
Bhanu Kapil
Steve Mentz
Astrida Neimanis
Maggie Nelson
Nat Raha
Michael Rosen
Craig Santos Perez
Laura Salisbury
Mama D Ujuaje
The COVID-19 pandemic and recent political, social and environmental crises have fundamentally changed the way that we perceive and experience care. As a result, the double-edged meaning of the term can be felt more sharply than ever; care encapsulates our attention and concern for someone or something at the same time as it defines our troubles, pains and sorrows. Moreover, taking care with our writing is an ethical and aesthetic imperative. In 2021, the Critical Poetics Summer School was delivered care of a group of internationally recognised artists, writers and thinkers whose work addresses current and pressing issues of care and caring.
How has the global pandemic changed care? What does care now mean in light of the social injustices and inequalities foregrounded by Black Lives Matter? What does it mean to be charged with the care of animal, vegetal and mineral lifeforms during the sixth mass extinction and the care of the environment in the ongoing climate crisis? Furthermore, how has care, both as a concept and an experience, changed for writers, artists, critics and readers? Over the course of the 2021 summer school, we explored these issues together, and in the process we interrogated the degree to which writing, art, criticism, or a combination of these, can help us attend to manifold, interconnected and collective care responsibilities.
Coordinated in partnership with Nottingham Contemporary, Curated & Curated at NTU and Metronome, the 2021 programme featured a wide range of virtual activities – from one-to-one tutorials, to workshops and public events – tailored for interdisciplinary scholars, writers, artists and students. Participants benefited from access to internationally renowned practitioners and thinkers and were provided with time and resources to develop their own critical-creative practice.
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The Critical Poetics International Summer School is run by the Critical Poetics Research Group at Nottingham Trent University, which explores the role of creative-critical writing in promoting cross-cultural conversation and driving social change. Working with regional, national and international partners, and bringing together perspectives from a wide range of fields in order to inspire new forms of engagement with pressing social, political, cultural and environmental concerns, the research group provides a home for scholars and artists who work across disciplines to explore creative and critical theory and practice. For more information, please visit our website.
Our partners
Nottingham Contemporary, has been described as ‘the most inspiring gallery in the UK’ (Guardian), with exhibitions, events, learning programmes and research offering extraordinary perspectives on today’s society. Nottingham Contemporary’s programme of events asks: How does research and practice intertwine in the cultural sector? And what does research look like when speaking from the site of practice? To find out more, please click here.
Curated & Created helps students and staff at Nottingham Trent University and the local community get enjoyment, inspiration and intellectual stimulation from all of the university’s exciting cultural and creative activities. From Bonington Gallery to Metronome and University Hall to their brand new reading and writing project ‘WRAP’, their programme is dazzlingly diverse. Whether you see yourself getting creative or simply appreciating what’s being produced, Curated & Created is where it all begins. To find out more, please click here.
Metronome is Nottingham’s national centre for music, moving image, video games, live performance and spoken word. Anchored around a 400-capacity (228 seated) venue, Metronome delivers an ambitious, diverse and contemporary cross-media programme. To find out more, please click here.