AHRC funded project, Decadence and Translation, looks at the mid-19th c generation of writers and artists who turned away from social and artistic conventions towards elaborate, esoteric and transgressive forms of artistic expression. Some of the movement’s most notable names include Oscar Wilde, Walter Pater, Arthur Symons, George Moore, John Gray, George Egerton (Mary Chavelita Dunne), Ernest Dowson, Lionel Johnson and Michael Field (the pen name of Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper). For these writers, Decadence offered a powerful means of affiliation with an artistic avant-garde, and translation formed a central role in their artistic innovation and enquiry.

The project will involve a series of conferences which will address different elements of the Decadent Movement, concluding in a digital exhibition and conference at home at the University of Glasgow in 2019. Anyone interested should visit the new website and follow on Twitter to keep informed of the latest progress.

First published: 28 September 2018

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