Perversions of Paper

Perversions of Paper comprises two events, an invitational workshop on 20 June 2014 and a one-day symposium on 28 June 2014. Both events investigate the outer limits of our interactions with books, manuscripts and paper. They consider unorthodox engagements with texts, from cherishing or hoarding them to mutilating and desecrating them, from wearing them to chewing them, and from inhaling their scent to erasing their content. ‘Perversion’ may apply to deviations from normal usage but also to our psychological investments in paper. To talk of having a fetish for books is common, but is there more to this than merely well-worn cliché? These events provide for reflections on perverse uses of – and relationships with – paper and parchment. What part do books, manuscripts and other written artefacts play in our imaginary and psychic lives, and what complex emotional attachments do we develop towards them? Also, how might literary studies or cultural history register these impulses and acts; what kind of methodologies are appropriate?

Registrations are now open for the one day symposium on 28 June 2014. The programme and registration information can be found at www.perversionsofpaper.com. Inquiries can be emailed to Gill Partington (g.partington@bbk.ac.uk).

perversionsofopaper webflyer (2)

Perversions of Paper is jointly sponsored by the Birkbeck Material Texts Network and the Archive Futures Research Network.

Gill Partington and Maryanne Dever​

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *