Excitement ahead June 4-7 at Virginia Woolf Conference
If you are still sitting on the fence about attending the 25th Annual International Conference on Virginia Woolf, now is the time to jump off that fence, block off June 4-7 on your calendar, and get ready to travel to Bloomsburg, Pa. The conference, held at Bloomsburg University, is on the theme Virginia Woolf and Her Contemporaries and will feature some real excitement. Here are some highlights now available on the conference website.
Most exciting of all will be Cecil Woolf as the featured speaker at the Saturday evening banquet — and the attendance of acclaimed author Jean Moorcroft Wilson. The couple head up Cecil Woolf Publishers of London
Cecil Woolf and Jean Moorcroft Wilson
Cecil Woolf and Jean Moorcroft Wilson
Cecil is the nephew of Leonard and Virginia Woolf, and Jean is a well-respected critic and biographer of the World War I poets and the leading authority on Siegfried Sassoon. Cecil and Jean have not attended a Woolf conference since 2010, so their participation in this year’s event is a long overdue treat, both for young scholars who have never had the opportunity to meet this notable couple and for Woolfians who have been befriended by the pair at previous events. As is customary at Cecil’s talks, he will share stories of his experiences with Virginia and Leonard.
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ReplyDeleteHello, Miss Woolf!
ReplyDeleteI cannot find a publishing address to send a personal handwritten letter, so posting a comment on your blog, I find, is my best bet.
Yesterday, I spent the afternoon at one of my dear friend's house and came across "The Ministry of Thin: How the Pursuit of Perfection Got Out of Control". My friend, Emily, whom I was visiting, talked about how intriguing and relatable this book is to her own personal battle with an eating disorder and the unattainable strive of perfectionism present for women and men in our highly mediated society.
As she was talking, I glanced at the front cover to see who the author of the book was and found the name "Emma Woolf" aligned at the bottom. I gasped aloud and wondered if this "Emma Woolf" could possibly be related to THE powerful, feminist author Virginia Woolf! Compelled with this topic, I skimmed to the end of the book towards the author's page and found that, indeed, YOU ARE related to this literary legend! It took over thirty minutes for me to finally calm down and stop talking about how strangely beautiful this situation was and then, I decided to read the beginning pages of your book while running errands with Emily.
As a writer, I take pride in great literature and admire those who can spin a sentence unto a spool of consistent eloquence. I am very impressed with your work and am quite humbled that you are an educating spokesperson for those battling body image, eating disorders, perfectionism, etc. It was baffling to read in "The Ministry of Thin" that "most women would pick being blind over becoming obese." It is encouraging to see highly successful women as yourself write and educate about personal hardships and achieve these battles with infinite stride. I have continued reading about your journey with Anorexia and find many similarities to my own story. I am excited to read all of your books!
Thank you for sharing your story, thank you for inspiring me to write not only of eating disorders, but regarding various subjects. This is another reason to continue on the path of a successful and healing recovery.
I am a student at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX. A long way from where I want to be but it is a stepping stone in my journey of recovery. I have been hospitalized for my eating disorder about three times and I have been bulimia free for over thirteen months now.
In addition to recovery and college, I am a Vice President of a Texas A&M Women's Leadership Organization called "C.A.L.I." which stands for "Collaborative Aggies Leadership Initiative". Part of our philanthropic endeavors involve The National Eating Disorders Association and living up to the principles of a healthy, well-balanced lifestyle. We strive to educate and empower those in our community.
After college, my goal is to become a writer-- possibly for a company like The Daily Beast, Sun Magazine, The New Yorker, etc. It is women like you who make this all seem attainable. Any words of wisdom for aspiring writers as myself?
I would very much like to hear from you.