Eighth International Aldous Huxley Symposium

Italy

There is a country in my mind,
Lovelier than a poet blind
Could dream of, who had never known
This world of drought and dust and stone
In all its ugliness: a place
Full of an all but human grace;
Whose dells retain the printed form
Of heavenly sleep, and seem yet warm
From some pure body newly risen;
Where matter is no more a prison,
But freedom for the soul to know
Its native beauty. For things glow
There with an inward truth and are
All fire and colour like a star. (…)

(from The Defeat of Youth and Other Poems, 1918)

General information

Venue: Centro Studi Ricerca e Formazione CISL, Via della Piazzuola, 71, 50133, Firenze (www.centrostudi.cisl.it/)

Dates: 21 October 2025 (conference warming, 18:00–20:00), 22–24 October (proceedings), 25 October (coach trip to Sansepolcro, see Huxley’s essay “The Best Picture”)

Convenors: The international Aldous Huxley Society (AHS) and the Centre for Aldous Huxley Studies (CAHS) [www.uni-muenster.de/Anglistik/Huxley/]

General theme: “Aldous Huxley in Italy: Rest Cure or/and Cultural Challenge”
The general theme of the conference will naturally focus on Huxley’s activities in Italy. Besides, there will certainly be room for a variety of other topics.

Huxley Forum: “The Reception of Aldous Huxley”
Speakers are invited to present particular forms of Huxley reception. Proposals include the Huxley reception in Spain, the reception of Huxley’s life and work in the Huxley Centre Zurich, the reception of Ape and Essence in the Cold War Soviet Union, and Island as a contemporary art exhibition.
The Forum has become a regular feature of Huxley Symposia; this time it will be moderated by Uwe Rasch, uwe.rasch@uni-muenster.de.

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To register for the conference, please download the registration form.