What makes a poem queer? And what would a canon of queer poetry look like? Those were question that poets Mary Jean Chan and Andrew McMillan had to consider recently when they put together an anthology of queer poetry, including classics like Langston Hughes and Elizabeth Bishop, as well as contemporary figures like Ocean Vuong and Carol Ann Duffy.
With his raw and urgent style and empathetic eye, Andrew McMillan has established himself as one of the UK’s best young poets. His debut collection physical received several awards when it came out in 2015, among which was the Guardian First Book Award as the first poetry collection in its history. His debut novel Pity explores male gender roles within a struggling working class town, in what is a compassionate portrait of difficult masculinity and a love letter to the industrial city. Outside of being a poet, McMillan is Professor of Contemporary writing at the Manchester Metropolitan University.
In this personal lecture, McMillan will reflect on the category of ‘queer’ poetry and the process and pitfalls of creating a new canon. He will also highlight some of the poets within the anthology and what their poetry means to him.
The lecture will be held in English.
You can also hear Andrew McMillan in conversation with the Danish author Glenn Bech at 19:30 the same day. Tickets and more information here.
