The Iris Murdoch Society podcast

In this episode Miles is joined by Lucy Bolton (Queen Mary, University of London), Lisa Smithstead (University of Exeter), and Melanie Williams (University of East Anglia)- three noted film scholars - to discuss the impact and legacy of the Oscar-winning film 'Iris', based on the first of John Bayley's memoirs about his wife, Iris Murdoch. You can find Lucy's book on Murdoch here: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-contemporary-cinema-and-the-philosophy-of-iris-murdoch.html and her essay on the film itself, here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt16d6996.10?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

In this podcast Miles is joined by Paul Fiddes, Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Oxford, to discuss his latest book, Iris Murdoch and the Others: A Writer in Dialogue with Theology. Paul is the author or editor of over twenty five books, including recent publications on Lewis and Williams, and a forthcoming monograph on Shakespeare later in 2022. Find the book here: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Iris-Murdoch-and-the-Others-by-Paul-S-Fiddes/9780567703347 You can find out more about Paul, and his research centre, The Centre for Theology and Modern European Thought, here: https://ctmet.theology.ox.ac.uk/home

In this episode I'm joined by Justin Broackes (Brown, USA), Gary Browning (Oxford Brookes), and Alison Scott-Baumann (SOAS)to discuss Murdoch's lifelong engagement with the fiction and philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre. From her first meeting with him in Brussels in 1945, right the way through to 'Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals'. Have your copy of Sartre: Romantic Rationalist to hand! Justin is the Editor of 'Iris Murdoch, Philosopher': https://www.bookdepository.com/Iris-Murdoch-Philosopher-Justin-Broackes/9780198701200?ref=grid-view&qid=1639760683318&sr=1-1 Gary is the author of 'Why Iris Murdoch Matters': https://irismurdochsociety.org.uk/product/why-iris-murdoch-matters/ Alison is the co-editor of 'Iris Murdoch and the Moral Imagination': https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0786440260?tag=bookfinder-test-b-21&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1&language=en_GB&selectObb=new

In this podcast Miles is joined by Paul Hullah, Associate Professor of English Literature at Meiji Gakuin, and President of the Iris Murdoch Society of Japan. Paul discusses his early life, literature, music and his meeting and subsequent friendship with Iris Murdoch. He and Yozo Muroya edited the only collection of Murdoch's poetry to date, as well as a volume of her essays. We talk about her poetry and why she changed Paul's life. Unfortunately the 'Poems' collection is out-of-print, but Paul hopes to have some copies available in 2022. 'Occasional Essays' by Iris Murdoch is available via Amazon. You can find Paul's tribute to Iris here: https://youtu.be/8q7BV6c2vUE

Joining me today is Prof. Benjamin Lipscomb (Houghton College, NY, USA) to discuss his new book 'The Women are up to Something' which considers the four women who changed philosophy in the mid-Twentieth Century: Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Mary Midgley, and Iris Murdoch. You can buy it here! https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Women-Are-Up-to-Something-by-Benjamin-J-Bruxvoort-Lipscomb/9780197541074

The new season of the podcast starts with a special on the author, essayist, critic, spy, journalist and much else besides, Elizabeth Bowen. She was a friend of Iris Murdoch (whom she influenced) 'I was very fond of her...she should have been Queen', Virginia Woolf, and many more. She's now seen as a major figure of Twentieth Century culture. Joining me to discuss her life and work are Nicola Darwood (University of Bedfordshire, Allan Hepburn (McGill University, Canada), and Nicolas Royle (University of Sussex). All three have written and published widely on Bowen's work and are experts in the field. The Bowen - Welty Letters mentioned can be found here: https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/iur.2021.0501 More on the relationship between Bowen and Murdoch here. https://irismurdochsociety.org.uk/2020/09/01/literary-motherhood-elizabeth-bowen-and-iris-murdoch/

Cora Diamond, leading philosopher, discusses her contributions to Wittgenstein, logic, mind, language, ethics, and the philosophical inquiry into our relation as humans to other animals. Topics include Murdoch's rejection of traditional philosophy, the role of reactive attitudes, the usefulness of concepts and texts, reflection on experience and progress in philosophy, and Quine's naturalism compared to Murdoch's humanistic approach.

This 'In Conversation' talk was given as part of the first online Iris Murdoch Conference on the 15th July, 2021. Sarah and Avril discuss the importance of Iris’ use of the gothic, and the impact it had on Sarah's own fiction. Avril Horner (Emeritus Professor, Kingston University) is a world-leading expert in the Gothic. She has co-edited collection on Murdoch’s work, as well as ‘Living on Paper: Letters from Iris Murdoch’ with Anne Rowe. Her biography of Barbara Comyns is forthcoming. Sarah Perry is the internationally best selling author of the novels Melmoth, The Essex Serpent, and After Me Comes the Flood, and the non-fiction Essex Girls. She is a winner of the Waterstone’s Book of the Year Awards and the British Book Awards, and has been nominated for major literary prizes including the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Folio Prize and the Costa Novel Award. Her essays have been widely published, and she has contributed to the Guardian, the New York Times, the Observer, and the London Review of Books. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has a PhD in Creative Writing, and has been a UNESCO City of Literature Writer in Residence in Prague, and a Writer in Residence at Gladstone’s Library and the Savoy Hotel in London. Her second novel, the No. 1 bestseller The Essex Serpent, is currently being adapted for television, starring Claire Danes in the lead role.

Joining me to discuss Iris' love of Peter Pan, and her use of Barrie's story in her own fiction, are Anne Rowe and Frances White, both from the Research Centre at Chichester. Peter Pan is referenced in nine of her novels, from An Unofficial Rose (1962) through to The Green Knight (1993) although we focus on A Word Child (1975)which the strongest imbued with him. You can find more material in Anne and Cheryl Bove's 'Sacred Space, Beloved City' here: https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-4438-0066-2

Joining me to discuss Murdoch's childhood reading, and its impact on her fiction, are Jan Skinner (formerly a tutor at Oxford's Continuing Education Department) and Anne Rowe (Chichester/Kingston). The main books discussed are Treasure Island, the Alice Books, and Kipling's Kim. A taster of Jan's essay can be found here: https://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9780230348288 and if you'd like the full text please get in touch. Anne's latest book can be purchased from the Society here:https://irismurdochsociety.org.uk/product/iris-murdoch-writers-and-their-work/