John Taylor, Professor of Economics at Stanford University and developer of the "Taylor Rule" for setting interest rates | Stanford University
John Taylor, Professor of Economics at Stanford University and developer of the "Taylor Rule" for setting interest rates | Stanford University
A new center dedicated to poetry scholarship has been established at Stanford University. The Stanford Center for Poetics, launched this quarter, is under the leadership of Marisa Galvez, a professor of French and Italian. The center is part of the School of Humanities and Sciences and is administered by the Department of English.
The center aims to provide a platform for research in poetics across different periods, languages, and methods. It will organize various lectures and events while continuing the Workshop in Poetics, which began in 2007. "We need a place like this at Stanford that can draw together people from a variety of disciplines with an interest in poetics," said Galvez. She added that it would enhance Stanford's reputation as an institution with a unique approach to poetics.
Stanford's tradition in poetics has been influenced by faculty members such as Marjorie Perloff and Yvor Winters. Roland Greene, the Mark Pigott KBE Professor and director of the Stanford Humanities Center, emphasized this tradition: “Stanford has a tradition in poetics like nowhere else.”
In recognition of notable figures in poetics, the center will host events named after them. The first event was the Marjorie Perloff Lecture held in November featuring Craig Dworkin discussing the poetics of labor. Other planned events include the Yvor Winters Conversations and Paul Kiparsky Seminars.
The Workshop in Poetics serves about 20 graduate students and several faculty members who meet regularly on campus. Greene highlighted its success due to its focus on graduate students who set its direction and choose visiting speakers.
Galvez shared her experience as a former workshop member: "It was the one workshop I would go to where everyone would show up." Jonathan Atkins, a graduate student and former co-chair of the workshop, praised its impact on his scholarship.
Atkins also advocated for establishing the center at Stanford to support poetics within literary studies. He stated that one of its missions is "to be an institutional bulwark for poetics."
For more information or membership registration inquiries about the center, contact co-chairs Mahdi Alaoui or Jon Tadmor.
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