The Iris Murdoch Society podcast

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/

Joining me to discuss Murdoch and Religion are Christopher Gowans (Fordham, USA), Scott H. Moore (Baylor, USA) and Frances White (IMRC, Chichester). We cover her life, tensions in her beliefs, her desire for a demythologised Christianity, and her later interest in Buddhism. Chris' website can be found here: http://christophergowans.com Scott's new book, 'How to Burn a Goat: Farming with the Philosophers': https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481311526/how-to-burn-a-goat/ Frances' award-winning biography: https://irismurdochsociety.org.uk/ims-shop/

Joining me for this podcast are two Murdoch fans who consider themselves to be 'common readers' (a term taken from Virginia Woolf).Kent Wennman is an artist, musician, and much more; Liz Dexter is a blogger, proof reader, and author of 'Iris Murdoch and the Common Reader'. We discuss what makes Murdoch appeal to all types of reader, and how she might be relevant to new readers in the Twenty-First Century. Liz's Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Iris-Murdoch-Common-Reader-Dexter/dp/1974249646

In this podcast I'm joined by Gillian Dooley (Flinders University, Australia) and Elin Svenneby to discuss Murdoch, music and singing. Along the way we cover most of the novels, consider how the philosophy of Plato, Schopenhauer and Weil might be connected to her thoughts about this artform, and discuss natural sounds and silence. Gillian's latest book: https://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9783030189662 Elin's Book: https://www.haugenbok.no/iris-murdochs-velvalgte-ord/svenneby-elin/9788274191662

Joining me to discuss William Golding, Doris Lessing and Muriel Spark in relation to their own work (and Iris!) are James Bailey (University of Sheffield), Nicola Presley (University of Bath Spa), and Nonia Williams (University of East Anglia). We cover the novels, of course, but also politics, feminism, WW2, the influence of travel, mysticism and much more! James' new book on Spark: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-muriel-spark-s-early-fiction.html Nonia's recent Edited Collection: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-british-avant-garde-fiction-of-the-1960s.html Nicola's Work: https://www.bathspa.ac.uk/our-people/nicola-presley/ The William Golding Website: https://william-golding.co.uk/

In this episode Miles is (virtually) in the Murdoch collection at the Kingston University Archives; and joined by the Head Archivist, Dayna Miller, transcriber Rachel Hirschler, and one of the founders of the archive, Prof. Anne Rowe (Chichester and Kingston). We cover the letters, journals, links between novels and unpublished work, poetry, artwork, and much more. To ask Dayna a question, or to book a visit, simply email: archives@kingston.ac.uk Find the archive here: https://www.kingston.ac.uk/faculties/kingston-school-of-art/research-and-innovation/iris-murdoch/ Back Issues of the Review (for free!) here: https://irismurdochsociety.org.uk/the-review/

In this podcast I'm joined by Prof Peter J. Conradi, Iris Murdoch's official biographer, to celebrate his own memoir, 'Family business', and to reflect on his biography of Iris, 'Iris Murdoch: A Life', twenty years after publication. He tells us about his relationship with Iris, her life, work and relationships, her unpublished novel 'Jerusalem', what he left unsaid until 'Family Business' (the final third of which is dedicated to her) and much more! You can buy 'Family Business' at a discounted price here until the end of February 2020: https://www.serenbooks.com/productdisplay/family-business-memoir using the code 'MURDOCH' at checkout. The article by Leo Robson that Peter refers to can be found here: https://www.newstatesman.com/iris-murdoch-novels-reissued-criticism-biography-100-years

In this lecture Rob Hardy (Emeritus, Henan Normal University, China) explores the consequences of two statements: (1) that Iris Murdoch was a shaman in the sense that Ted Hughes said that Shakespeare and T.S Eliot were, and (2) that Murdoch’s shamanism was deeply linked to the intertextuality of her fiction.

Joining me to discuss Iris Murdoch and feminism are Lucy Bolton, a film scholar from Queen Mary, University of London; Wendy Jones Nakanishi a literary scholar recently retired from Shikoku Gakuin University, Japan; and the artist and scholar Carol Sommer. Lucy's Book on Iris Murdoch and Film-Philosophy: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-contemporary-cinema-and-the-philosophy-of-iris-murdoch.html Carol's Book 'Cartography for Girls': https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/7203743-cartography-for-girls-an-a-z-of-orientations-ident