Impact, engagement, policy ∣ Researches Victorian literature, social history, freethought periodicals ∣ Constance Naden: Scientist, Philosopher, Poet ∣ she/her
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ALT Abstract: Chatterton's Commune, the Atheistic Communistic Scorcher (1884–95) was a journal that troubled the boundaries of 19th-century print culture. Ostensibly a periodical, with all the associated markers of form and content (from masthead to ‘To Correspondents' column), it might alternatively be considered an expanded broadside, a pamphlet series, or even a proto-zine. This article's close consideration of this publication elaborates upon what the periodical form enabled for Daniel Chatterton—its impoverished editor, sole author, typesetter, printer & distributor—as a tool of political agitation during the late 19th century. Focusing on the publication's materialities of print and production, its resistance to ephemerality (of both print & working-class lives), and Chatterton's aspirations towards radical communality, it argues that by pushing at the limits of freedom of thought Chatterton's Commune brings into focus the perceived power of periodicals at the end of the 19 century.
ALT Secular Community and Identity in the Poetry of British Freethought Periodicals. Abstract: The poetry in British freethought periodicals in the second half of the 19th century illuminates how members of this radical secularist movement agitated for change, expressed their ideas, and self-fashioned their collective identity as a community of thought and action. This article examines the role of poetry in the National Reformer, Freethinker, Secular Review/Agnostic Journal, and Secular Chronicle. Their editors published lyrical and reflective poetry alongside poems of protest, expressing freethinkers’ social and political struggles across poetic forms and bringing an often-divided secularist movement together. The article concludes by considering what cuttings in an edition of J. M. Wheeler’s Freethought Readings and Secular Songs (1892) tells us about the value of poetry for secularists.
ALT Black-and-white illustration of a man reading by fireplace. Text says: Call for contributors, the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals is seeking reviewers for the 2020-2024 RSVP Bibliography
ALT Powerful Poetry Panel join our panel to discover the power of writers and local communities to stand up against injustice and give voices to those who need it most. Centering around Rochdale's historical involvement with fighting for abolition in the 1860s during the Lancashire Cotton Famine, historians will uncover the people and their poetry behind the town's radical history. Sunday 27th October Rochdale Town Hall 3- 4pm Free workshop Booking is essential
ALT A graphic outlining the flash sale offer: Book to stay on October 13th and/or 14th and receive 30% off the cost of your accommodation.
