KNOW YOUR PLACE?
Diaspora literature and the subversion of borders
3-5 November 2005
Great Hall, London House, Goodenough College, Mecklenburgh Square, London WC1
funded by THE FORD FOUNDATION
KNOW YOUR PLACE? was a timely 3-day international Conference that brought together a wealth of literary talent from all over the world in a series of provocative and topical public debates on the theme of displacement and identity.
The Conference was organised in association with Index on Censorship, an independent journal devoted to free expression, and Goodenough College, a postgraduate residential hall, with 650 alumni from 80 countries.
Amongst the 37 writers who contributed to the debates were: Eva Hoffman (Lost in Translation); Ekow Eshun (Black Gold of the Sun); Howard Jacobson (Roots Schmoots:Journeys among Jews); Aminatta Forna (The Devil that Danced on the Water); Raja Shehadeh (When the Bulbul Stopped Singing); Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (No Place like Home); Ted Cantle (Building Cohesive Communities); Moris Farhi (Children of the Rainbow) - and a host of other diasporic authors from around the world.
The event included a bookfair supported by major publishers and bookstores as well as a number of medium and small-scale independents. In addition, a number of publishers and agents ran surgeries for aspiring writers giving advice and tips on how to get published.
The debates were interpersed with live recitals by storytellers and poets, further illuminating the themes of the Conference.
Index on Censorship plans to publish a legacy document for the event as the main part of its spring 2006 journal. This will include transcripts of all the recitals and talks. If you would like to be informed when this publication is available, please email: emma.dcosta@culturalco-operation.org