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 PARTICLES OF NARRATIVELanguage, Metaphor and Children’s LiteratureFriday, October 26 and Saturday, October 27, 2007Presented by Trinity College at the University of Toronto Is Children’s Literature a science? What could the particle physicist, children’s writer and playing child possibly have in common? Examining the stuff of which children’s books are made – words – some of the world’s leading writers and experts on language and children’s literature will consider just how the smallest “particles of narrative” combine to accrue meaning as we read. What do we get out of the words in a children’s story? How does metaphor reassure us with a sense of order? What is our brain doing when metaphors make sense to us? Why do we long for endings, but relish sequels? Is adaptation necessary to survival – literary or otherwise? Five children’s writers and two professors of literature and language will explore the richness of scientific words and concepts for interpreting the power of children’s books to engage our minds. Academics and students, writers and illustrators, teachers, librarians, publishers and editors – anyone eager to understand story better is invited to this fest of thinking readers and writers. Interested high school students are also welcome. PARTICLES OF NARRATIVE will feature renowned British children’s author Philip Pullman and three Canadian Governor General’s Award winners, Tim Wynne-Jones, Sarah Ellis and Kenneth Oppel, as well as American Megan Whalen Turner, Newbery Honor winner. They will be joined by Professor Linda Hutcheon, Distinguished University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto, and Professor Mark Turner, Institute Professor and Professor of Cognitive Science at Case Western University. This is a rare North American appearance for Pullman, whose trilogy, His Dark Materials, is inspired by Milton’s Paradise Lost. In December, The Golden Compass, the first volume of the trilogy, will be released as a movie, starring Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. Pullman’s writings, compelling not only to children but also to adults, bring intellectual rigour and a vigorous response to the religious debates of our current world. The audience will have the opportunity to hear all participants speak, and a panel of all participants at the close of the day will be open to questions from the audience. The symposium is organized by Professor Deirdre Baker, who teaches children’s literature in the English Department at the University of Toronto and is a Trinity College associate, and Susan Perren, director of Development and Alumni Affairs at Trinity College. |