The John Andrén Foundation Conference: ‘Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley, and the fin de siècle’
8-9 June 2018, Ystad, Sweden.
Keynote speakers:
Peter Raby (Cambridge University)
Linda Gertner Zatlin (Morehouse College)
When John Andrén, native of Ystad, died in 1965, his will contained directions for a foundation at Ystad Town Library which was to build and to administrate a special collection of books comprising ‘everything that is written and printed by and about’ Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley, Thomas Edward Lawrence, and Vaslav Nijinsky. Andrén’s will was made public in October 1980 and the collection he envisaged is now held in the John Andrén Room at Ystad Public Library, which was established by Mrs. Astrid Andrén on 6 June 1983.
Andrén’s will also stipulates that the contents of the collection must remain in Ystad in order ‘to induce scholars and other interested persons to visit the town of Ystad for a shorter or longer period for studies on the spot. Thus, at least to a certain degree, some revenue, as well as a certain measure of fame, should accrue to the city of Ystad’. With a view to furthering this laudable aim, as well as the academic work of the Foundation, the Board of the John Andrén Foundation is delighted to announce the inaugural John Andrén Foundation Conference, which will take place in Ystad 8-9 June 2018.
The theme of the conference is ‘Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley, and the fin de siècle’, and the organisers invite proposals dealing with any aspect of the work of Wilde, Beardsley, and their cultural milieu.
Proposals for papers of 20 minutes, or for panels of three delegates, should be sent to the organisers by 28 February 2018. Proposers will be notified of acceptance within three weeks. The conference will be held in English throughout. It is anticipated that a volume containing edited papers from the conference will be published and will form part of the Foundation’s collection.
Please send proposals and any other queries to: jac2018@ystad.se