Events
Due to the closure of the brick & mortar + the ongoing pandemic, all events are virtual. Got questions? Please direct all inquiries to spiralbookcase@gmail.com. Miss an event you really wanted to see? Check out our Events Archive for video recordings!
Ancient Lit, Queer Potentials
Thursday, June 26 at 6 PM EST | Zoom
Join us for a virtual lecture in collaboration with Dr. Carman Romano. With AL/QP, Carman will (re-)introduce Selkies to ancient mythic literature and its latent queer potential. Myths are, after all, some of the world’s oldest fantasy and science fiction.
We’ll use Stephanie McCarter’s scintillating new translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Helen Morales’ Antigone Rising to ground and support our discussion. By focusing on some of Ovid’s stories that deal with gender, sex, sexualized violence, and sexuality, we’ll empower ourselves to use literary myths to think about and interrogate these concepts.
Questions might include: How are gender, sex, violence, and/or sexuality represented in Ovid’s myths? Is the poet critical of the actions and events he’s portraying? Does that matter for our contemporary reading of the Metamorphoses? What does it really mean for a myth—or any fiction, for that matter—to be queer or feminist? Are any of Ovid’s stories? And most importantly: If some or all of Ovid’s stories are neither, could we reimagine them?
This offering is fully funded by grant monies, so your ticket + copies of both books is free. All you'll need to do is reserve your spot with us; only 10 seats are available.