Fabulosa! Polari Workshop with Professor Paul Baker.

Our Queer Theory for Everyday Life session this time is a Polari workshop and discussion with Professor Paul Baker

We are delighted to announce that we will be joined by Professor Paul Baker of Lancaster University, author of Fantabulosa and other books on Polari. Paul will be leading a workshop on learning to use Polari. We can also discuss how Polari intersects with modern queer theory and LGBTQ+ identities in the 21st century. Not to be missed. Places are strictly limited due to space. Booking is essential.

More about Polari

Polari is now sometimes thought of as a dead secret gay language that is no longer relevant to today's more open times. Some critics consider Polari to be a product of the closet and therefore to be anti-queer. But is this really case? Should Polari be relegated to an historical curiosity, a period piece of no relevance in the 21st century? Or can Polari be celebrated for its outrageous campiness, its subversiveness with its vibrant scabrous wit, helping to sustain gay and queer life in difficult times?

In this edition of Queer Theory for Everyday Life we will learn some Polari with Paul Baker and explore its relation to camp and Queer Theory. There will be an opportunity to learn a few words of Polari and make up a sentence or two of your favourite phrases!

About Queer Theory for Everyday Life

Queer Theory encompasses an intentional questioning and deconstructing of the categories (man or woman), oppositions (man vs. woman, heterosexual vs. homosexual) and equations (gender=sex) that underpin notions of identity and sexuality (Rosemary Hennessy, Queer Theory: A Review of the difference Special Issue and Wittig's The Straight Mind).

Queer Theory, alike various domains of theory, has a reputation for being 'out of reach' or 'difficult to grasp'. We strongly believe it doesn't have to be that way and want to take folks who are interested in Queer Theory, on a journey to explore how it can be used in everyday life. The discussion will be naturally led by the thoughts and reflections of the participants - we will also provide discussion prompters i.e excerpts from texts and visuals.

Following on from the main discussion, participants are then invited to partake in a Zine workshop where they can develop what they've explored into an authentic Zine!!

All activities are hosted by Book28 Volunteers. If you have any questions about the event please don't hesitate to contact us on: [email protected]

Host or Publisher Book 28 Library