In this three-day event, the world’s first of its kind, we will jointly read Edmund Spenser’s epic poem The Faerie Queene (1590/1596) and embark on a wild ride through a world of knights, dragons and magical creatures. We will thereby return poetry to its origins of being recited and enjoyed communally. The event will begin with a mini-conference on Friday afternoon, with lectures by Dr Antoinina Bevan Zlatar (Zurich), a renowned early modernist, and others. These lectures will introduce you to the literary, cultural and linguistic contexts of Spenser’s work and thereby prepare you for the reading. The reading itself will begin on Friday evening and end on Sunday evening.

Students wishing to earn credit for the marathon reading are required to attend the entire event and write a short report (2-3 pages).

Participants should bring a copy of The Faerie Queene to the event. Recommend edition: Penguin Classics.