The Convivial x Gayle Letherby

I live alone. Both my parents are dead. I am childless, a widow, no siblings. I miss very greatly the loved ones I have ‘lost’ but their continuing social presence in my life along with the physical presence and actions of significant others enriches my daily experience and imagination(s).

But I also enjoy solitude. I love the company of others and I have lots of it. I find pleasure in my own space, in being alone and I rarely feel lonely. I recognise my privilege, and acknowledge that without the past and present loving presence of others I might feel very differently when I am alone.

Solitude (the state or situation of being alone), although often conflated with loneliness, is complex and may be a positive and a negative experience - sometimes at the same time. It is easy to find talk of solo-livers, and particularly older ones, as ‘coping with’ or ‘learning to live with’ solitude. In an age of austerity and post-pandemic, loneliness is on the rise... HOWEVER, there is also much evidence of individuals choosing solitude with freedom, creativity and spirituality all viewed as benefits of time alone.

In my talk I’ll reflect further on my own, and others, experience of sociable solitude - not least in order to challenge some of the simplistic stereotypes of this way of living.

Speaker

Gayle is Visiting Professor at the Universities of Plymouth, Greenwich and Bath. A sociologist, her substantive interests are varied and include reproductive and non/parental identities; meanings and experiences of love; solitude and/or loneliness, gender, health and wellbeing; loss and the aftermath of death; travel and transport mobility; teaching and learning in higher education, and gender and identity. She remains fascinated by method/ological practices; by how what we do affects what we get and what to do with what we get.

What to expect

6pm - arrive

6.30pm - talk begins

7.30pm - dinner (vegan) is served

8 - 9pm - talks, drinks, socialising

A range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks will be available to buy on the bar.

Venue

Three of Cups Vintage, 20 Lower Market Street, Penryn

Please get in touch to talk about accessibility and your needs in the space.

The Convivial

The Convivial is an interdisciplinary symposium or talk series based in Penryn. We hope to provide a hospitable space for imagination and creative discourse that is accessible for the community to attend for free or for a donation. We are driven by the desire for open-access knowledge and tools for imagination in a world that desperately needs both. The Convivial wishes to break down institutional walls and share the wisdom within them with those who are best placed to use it – the community itself.

Host or Publisher The Convivial