Cirrus@Austlit

'When we first announced the international symposium, Inside/Outside/Carnival, that took place at the University of Winchester, UK, in June 2017 (a collaboration between the International Poetry Studies Institute (IPSI) at the University of Canberra, and the University of Winchester, with invited guest speakers from the USA, Australia and the UK) we prefaced it with, ‘Into the cauldron of 21st century writing - Tipping a hat at Bakhtin the word Carnival is ambiguous. It tilts at blurred edges, a world upside down and inside out.’ We had no idea what would come about and a cauldron seemed a relevant metaphor at the time. And so it proved because we now have this collection of articles, essays, prose, prose poetry and poetry, which shows how a simple idea can have such a remarkable melting pot response.' (Introduction)