Elemental Relations

Click to enlarge. It's a nice poster.

by J J Cohen

[read Karl first]

Although my academic preoccupations have been mainly lithic these past few years, I'm interested in all the elements. Earth, air, fire and water seem the perfect size to think with: larger than atoms and smaller than gods, as somebody once put it. Stephanie Trigg and I are just putting the finishing touches to an essay on "Fire," both of us exploring flames that burn in Iceland and Australia. It's been great fun to write with her, and see what unexpected trails opened. The Ecomaterialism issue of postmedieval will in fact be full of all kinds of such goodness, as the organizing theme is the elements and their interstices. The essays arrive tomorrow, though several contributors (eg) have amazed Lowell and me by arriving early. A good omen.

My next speaking gig is also elemental. In fact, my talk is called "Elemental Relations." I get to share the stage with Tim Morton. Eileen Herself will moderate. I'm very much looking forward to the event at EMU and hope to see some ITM readers there.