Portraits of an American

We've all heard of him. Some of us have seen the movie with Uma Thurman, or maybe the one with Nicole Kidman. The titles, The Portrait of a Lady, The Turn of the Screw, The Wings of the Dove, are well-known, even if not all of us have made it through to the end of a novel. But Henry James remains one of the best known American writers and, tomorrow, he'll be the subject of a three day international conference at AUP.

The Third International Henry James Centenary Conference, Reading Henry James in the Twenty-First Century: Heritage and Transmission, will be held on campus in Combes from Thursday October 20th to Saturday October 22nd. Our very own Adrian Harding, professor of Comparative Literature, says the conference is a wonderful opportunity for students and faculty alike to discover how and why James is more relevant than ever to contemporary readers.

"James is still considered a classic for every teacher," said Professor Harding, "And his work has a lot to say about modern life. He talks about the future, about self-respect and self-discovery. His works aren't philosophical but realistic."

The conference brings together Henry James scholars from around the world and aims to show James from multiple cultural viewpoints. Professor Harding also hopes the conference will be an opportunity for younger generations to discover James' writing.