Ian Seed, European Languages and Cultures, Lancaster University

Research Interests

I am fascinated by the host of questions and issues which sprang up with moral, political and aesthetic urgency for Italian writers (as well as film makers) in 1945: can one create a literature which in some way upholds the 'values' of the Resistance and which will help to build a different society without compromising the 'values' of 'art'? What is the relationship between politics and art? What lessons can present and future generations learn from literature about the importance of the Resistance and of never allowing Fascism to return? How does one create a 'valid' literature out of one's own experience, an experience lived 'sulla propria pelle'? What is the relationship between 'facts' and 'words', and between 'experience' and 'narrative'? How can one relate the experience of war without falsifying it? What kind of language should be used? How can one avoid the kind of rhetoric associated with Fascism? Can one tell an 'honest' story without betraying the suffering and 'ultimate sacrifice' made in the cause of freedom? In terms of loyalty, what does a writer owe to his fallen comrades and what does he or she owe to the living? Does one need the concept of 'literature' at all? Since the events of war are themselves so dramatic, can't they simply be transmitted in straightforward document and memoir? Are there ways in which 'the truth' of the experience of war can be better explored and communicated in fiction rather than memoir? Why does this matter today?

PhD Thesis working title: Literature and Resistance: the Search for a Moral Realism in the work of Beppe Fenoglio

Additional Information

I am also a practising creative writer. My poetry, fiction, translations and reviews have appeared in a range of journals and anthologies. Individual collections include:

Shifting Registers (Shearsman Books, 2011).

Amore mio (Flax ebooks, 2011)

the straw which comes apart (translations from the Italian of Ivano Fermini) (Oystercatcher Press, 2010)

Anonymous Intruder (Shearsman Books, 2009)

Contact Details

Tel: +44 (0)1524 594698

Room: Bowland North, B55

Office Hour: I work at the university on Tuesdays. I am very happy to answer any questions on an individual basis. To make an appointment, the best way is to send me an email or talk to me after the lecture / seminar.

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Staff Menu Staff A-Z By Role By Keywords Keywords Search SEARCH using keywords/tags or full text search.	Mr Ian Seed Part time tutor in Italian Studies Degree: BA Nottingham University MA Lancaster University Current Teaching DELC355 Literature and Resistance: Italian fiction and memoirs 1945 to 1955. Research Interests I am fascinated by the host of questions and issues which sprang up with moral, political and aesthetic urgency for Italian writers (as well as film makers) in 1945: can one create a literature which in some way upholds the 'values' of the Resistance and which will help to build a different society without compromising the 'values' of 'art'? What is the relationship between politics and art? What lessons can present and future generations learn from literature about the importance of the Resistance and of never allowing Fascism to return? How does one create a 'valid' literature out of one's own experience, an experience lived 'sulla propria pelle'? What is the relationship between 'facts' and 'words', and between 'experience' and 'narrative'? How can one relate the experience of war without falsifying it? What kind of language should be used? How can one avoid the kind of rhetoric associated with Fascism? Can one tell an 'honest' story without betraying the suffering and 'ultimate sacrifice' made in the cause of freedom? In terms of loyalty, what does a writer owe to his fallen comrades and what does he or she owe to the living? Does one need the concept of 'literature' at all? Since the events of war are themselves so dramatic, can't they simply be transmitted in straightforward document and memoir? Are there ways in which 'the truth' of the experience of war can be better explored and communicated in fiction rather than memoir? Why does this matter today? PhD Thesis working title: Literature and Resistance: the Search for a Moral Realism in the work of Beppe Fenoglio Additional Information I am also a practising creative writer. My poetry, fiction, translations and reviews have appeared in a range of journals and anthologies. Individual collections include: Shifting Registers (Shearsman Books, 2011). Amore mio (Flax ebooks, 2011) the straw which comes apart (translations from the Italian of Ivano Fermini) (Oystercatcher Press, 2010) Anonymous Intruder (Shearsman Books, 2009) «Back	Contact Details Tel: +44 (0)1524 594698 Room: Bowland North, B55 Office Hour: I work at the university on Tuesdays. I am very happy to answer any questions on an individual basis. To make an appointment, the best way is to send me an email or talk to me after the lecture / seminar. View Staff Profiles European Languages and Cultures Staff All Faculty Staff Search Faculty by Keyword
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Bowland North, Lancaster University, LA1 4YT, UK \| Tel: +44 (0) 1524 593005 E-mail: delc@lancaster.ac.uk
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Mr Ian Seed

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