International Lecture by Prof. Michael Heyman organized by the Department of English
On 11th July 2025, Prof. Michael Heyman gave an online lecture titled 'Hiji-bij-bijabberwock: Nonsense literature in India and beyond' to students of the English Department. Prof. Heyman is the Fizzbert P. Pinkbottom Endowed Chair of Nonsense at Berklee College of Music, Boston and the author of the field-defining book The Tenth Rasa: An Anthology of Indian Nonsense (Penguin) with Sumanyu Satpathy and Anushka Ravishankar which is the only volume of pan-Indian nonsense literature in translation. Globally recognised an authority on the literary nonsense, Prof. Heyman's lecture was an enriching learning experience for the students who have the nonsense literature of Lewis Carroll and Sukumar Ray in their syllabus.
Prof. Heyman spoke at length about the definitions of nonsense and the development of this genre in the writings of Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass), Edward Lear (Nonsense Rhymes), Sukumar Ray (Abol Tabol, Ha-Ja-Ba-Ra-La) and Anushka Ravishankar (Ogd). Students were exposed to the theories that govern the practice and understanding of nonsense and the political and social implications of these texts. They also learnt about the historical trajectory of nonsense and the influences of colonialism in the development of modern Indian literary nonsense, culminating with a discussion of Ravishankar's 'Ogd' (Duckbill, 2020). The Semester 4 students were particularly benefitted as they have Carroll's 'Through the Looking Glass' and Ray's 'Abol Tabol' in their syllabus and they learnt about the intercultural and linguistic exchanges that take place in these works. The students also got the opportunity to interact with Prof. Heyman and to ask him questions directly.
The students of the Department were joined by students and faculty from colleges with whom Loreto College has MoUs and other institutions like Gokhale Memorial Girls' College, Shri Shikshayatan College, Providence College For Women (autonomous) Coonoor, as well as children's literature authors and publishers such as Sayoni Basu of Duckbill. Prof. Heyman's talk was attended by approximately 117 participants, several of whom had very insightful questions for him, and the lecture was a learning experience for all.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
