All are welcome at ‘Reading Ford’, an open event organised by the Ford Madox Ford Society. With Ford currently attracting numerous new readers, it is an ideal time to explore the book-group approach to reading him as well as more individual experiences of his work.
Five speakers have been confirmed – honorary member Oliver Soskice, Hilary Green, Michael Goldman, Walter Hall and Sally Kirkwood – and we hope there will be the opportunity to have a more general discussion among those present. It would be very helpful to have an indication of numbers – if you are intending to come, please email Sara Haslam: [email protected]. And please pass the invitation on to anyone else that you think might be interested – everyone is welcome. Click here to download the poster ‘Ford Madox Ford’s Parade’s End: Modernism and the First World War’
27–29 September 2012 Institute of English Studies, University of London 2012 proved to be an annus mirabilis for Ford and Fordians. The Good Soldier was published twice: Martin Stannard’s second Norton Critical Edition was followed by Max Saunders’s Oxford University Press edition. OUP also issued in paperback Max’s two-volume Ford Madox Ford: A Dual Life. Rodopi published the eleventh volume of International Ford Madox Ford Studies: Ford Madox Ford and America, edited by Sara Haslam and Seamus O’Malley (see the IFMFS page). Other publications engaging with Ford include Rob Hawkes’s Ford Madox Ford and the Misfit Moderns: Edwardian Fiction and the First World War, Nathan Waddell’s Modernist Nowheres: Politics and Utopia in Early Modernist Writing 1900–1920 (both Palgrave Macmillan), and Julian Barnes’s Through the Window: Seventeen Essays (and One Short Story) (Vintage). In August–September, there was the brilliant five-part production – ‘one of the finest things the BBC has ever made’ (The Independent) – of Tom Stoppard’s adaptation ofParade’s End, directed by Susanna White, and the insightful, sensitive and at times moving Who on Earth Was Ford Madox Ford? A Culture Show Special, written, produced and directed by Rupert Edwards. A DVD of the television series has been released (it includes a ‘Behind the Scenes’ documentary), Dirk Brossé’s soundtrack is available digitally and on CD, and Faber has published Stoppard’s script (with an Introduction by the author and ‘bonus scenes’). If all that was not enough, in September there was ‘Ford Madox Ford’s Parade’s End: Modernism and the First World War’, a three-day conference at the Institute of English Studies. Speakers and delegates came from around the world to discuss and celebrate Ford’s First World War modernist masterpiece. Twenty-six very impressive papers were presented:
After lunch on the Thursday, the keynote address, on ‘War and Division in Parade’s End’, was delivered by Professor Adam Piette (University of Sheffield), who began with a fine close reading of the Vorticist opening of No More Parades to develop ideas about pseudo-couples, male friendship, homo-duplex, voices and paranoia, emasculation, the domestic, and violence. In the evening, there was a public event attended by over one hundred people: a Q&A with special guests Susanna White and Rupert Edwards. Both talked about their admiration of Ford’s writing, the various demands of turning text to screen, and their working processes. They also let the audience in on a few secrets. The Q&A was followed by a wine reception (sponsored by Carcanet Press, Oxford University Press and the Open University) and the launch of Carcanet’s four-volume critical edition of Parade’s End edited by Max Saunders (Some Do Not ...), Joseph Wiesenfarth (No More Parades), Sara Haslam (A Man Could Stand Up –), and Paul Skinner (Last Post). On the Saturday, the editors hosted a round-table discussion about the volumes. Thanks to Max Saunders, delegates were treated to a screening of the three-part 1964 BBC adaptation of Parade’s End. A young Judi Dench presented a spirited, plucky Valentine but was outshone by Ronald Hines as Tietjens, who brought out the inner tensions of the character, and a scene with Sylvia (Jeanne Moody), in which she seemed to orgasm when thinking about her control over her husband, was remarkable. On the Friday afternoon, the results of the ‘silent auction’ were announced. The family of Dr Jenny Plastow (friend, Fordian, and founding member of the Society) had kindly donated Jenny’s Ford-related books. The Society, whose funds have been significantly swelled, is sincerely grateful. On the Friday evening, Society members gathered at Olivelli for the conference dinner, at which Joseph Wiesenfarth was presented a thank-you gift for his work over the years as US Treasurer. At the AGM on the Saturday, Seamus O’Malley accepted the nomination for the role. Thanks to everyone who helped us over the three days, particularly the panel chairs John Attridge, Alexandra Becquet, Dominique Lemarchal, Seamus O’Malley, Gene Moore, Paul Skinner, Joseph Wiesenfarth, and Angus Wrenn. Special thanks must go to Charlotte Jones for running the bookstall and to Jon Millington at the IES for his help before, during and after the conference. Finally, thanks are due to everyone who attended and made the three days so enjoyable. Ashley Chantler and Rob Hawkes, conference organisers This report was first published on the Ford Madox Ford Society Website: http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/fordmadoxford-society/recent.html Registration is now open for 'Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End: Modernism and the First World War', 27-29 September 2012 at the Institute of English Studies, University of London.
Highlights of the conference programme include:
To download the full conference programme and to register visit: http://fordmadoxford-conference.weebly.com/registration-and-programme.html Source: The Telegraph. Posted on 18 Feb 2012. By Serena Davies.
'The BBC has released the first image from their upcoming period drama blockbuster, Parade’s End. The series, a co-production with US cable TV network HBO, will premiere on BBC Two later this year and has been scripted by Sir Tom Stoppard, the playwright. It promises to be one of the highlights of the 2012 schedules. The picture shows the drama’s two leads, rising stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, War Horse) and Sir Peter Hall’s daughter Rebecca (Vicky Cristina Barcelona). They play the troubled married couple Christopher and Sylvia Tietjens who are at the heart of Ford Madox Ford’s complex 1920s masterpiece. His four-part novel is set in England and on the Western Front during the First World War and chronicles the twilight of the Edwardian era. Sir Tom Stoppard has been lured back to television after an absence of 20 years to write the screenplay of Ford’s book. The director is Susanna White, who also made TV’s acclaimed Generation Kill, Bleak House and Jane Eyre; the series is produced by Mammoth Screen (Lost in Austen, Wuthering Heights). Parade's End's supporting cast reads like a roll call of pedigree British acting talent and pays testament to the pulling power of Stoppard’s name when it is attached to a project. The other actors taking part include Roger Allam, Anne-Marie Duff, Rupert Everett, Stephen Graham, Clare Higgins, Janet McTeer and Miranda Richardson.' Ford Society Chair Sara Haslam, FMF Biographer Alan Judd and Edwardian golfers on the Parade's End set: Shooting the first meeting:
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