Talks, symposium, exhibit celebrate Wordsworth, the Romantic imagination

By Franklin Crawford

Jonathan Wordsworth, professor of English literature at Oxford University, will deliver a University Lecture at Cornell titled "Doors of Perception: Variants of Romantic Imagination," Friday, April 7, at 4:30 p.m. in Kaufmann Auditorium of Goldwin Smith Hall. His lecture is part of a series of public events, beginning today, organized by Cornell Library and the Department of English to celebrate the exhibition "Wordsworth and the Romantic Imagination: A Scholar's Collection," on display in the Kroch Library's Division and Manuscript Collections, Level 2B.

Titled "The Romantic Imagination," the events include public talks and a colloquium and are scheduled through Saturday, April 8.

Jonathan Wordsworth is widely thought of as the leading scholar-critic of his generation in the field of Wordsworth studies and, more widely, in studies in Romantic poetry, said Stephen M. Parrish, Cornell's Goldwin Smith Professor of English Emeritus and himself a noted Wordsworth scholar.

"Jonathan's eminence arises from the fact that he is one of that rare breed, a combination of first-rate scholar and distinguished critic," Parrish said. "He writes about Wordsworth with extraordinary critical perception, sensitive unfailingly to the poet's intentions."

Other "Romantic Imagination" events include:

·Today, April 6: Paul F. Betz of Georgetown University will give a talk titled "The 'Danish Boy' Ballad and 'Laverna': Two Unfinished Poems by Wordsworth and Their Implications" at 2:30 p.m. in Lecture Room 2B, Kroch Library. Refreshments provided.

·Saturday, April 8, "Romantic Remainders," a colloquium sponsored by Cornell Library and the Becker Fund, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Lecture Room 2B, Kroch Library.

Here is a list of the colloquium speakers and their presentations: 11 a.m., Karen Swann, Williams College, "Shelley's Bones"; noon, Laura Quinney, Brandeis University, "The Discretion of Affects in The Prelude"; 2:30 p.m., Adela Pinch, University of Michigan, "Romanticism and Everyday Anthropomorphisms"; 3:30 p.m., Rajani Sudan, University of Texas at Arlington, "De Quincey's Dirty Secrets"; and there will be a reception at 4:30 p.m.

For more information, contact the English department at 255-6801 or the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, 255-3530.