Professors Tess Maginess and Pramod K. Nayar will offer a glimpse into how madness is represented in literature: specifically how Indian and Irish writers use the trope of madness to offer a subversive critique of a crisis in history where one kind of power must give way to another. They will focus on Saadat Hassan Manto’s story, ‘Toba Tek Singh,’ and Seamus Heaney’s translation of the ninth-century Gaelic poem, ‘The Frenzy of Sweeney’. Professor Nayar will contribute online.

Opening with a wine reception, followed by an open mic for writers and poets. 

Tess Maginess is Professor of Lifelong Learning in Queen’s University Belfast and teaches literature. Pramod K. Nayar is Professor of English and the UNESCO Chair in Vulnerability Studies at the Department of English, the University of Hyderabad, India.