The women who WEREn't there: hidden female authorship in the early modern period

This bite-sized presentation will introduce specialists, non-specialists and members of the public to the highlights of some key women authors of the early modern period, including Amelia Lanyer who calls for women’s equality in her 1611 published work. 

Usually, when we think about seminal and canonical authors, those who are critical to the contribution and development of the English language and culture, authors such as Shakespeare and Milton spring to mind, (and for good reason). However, absent from this general cultural-consciousness around our most influential authors are the women who were producing equally worthy-works contemporaneously with their male counterparts. Their names are still generally unknown. The fact that women were writing and publishing during this historic period is still an opaque fact, which continues to contribute to the unequal, imbalanced assumption of male power and authority. 

This event aims to contribute to the body of work trying to redress that imbalance.