Dante 700 Lecture

16 June 2021

Celebrating Dante and his Global Contemporary Literary Greats.

Dante’s work is a landmark in Italian literature and continues to inspire writers and readers around the world. As we mark 700 years since the writer’s death here in Bologna - home to the world’s oldest university where he studied- BBPlus presented a timely event considering the influence of Dante’s work globally and his international literary contemporaries.

The eminent speakers were: Dr Jacob Blakesley, Associate Professor in Comparative Literature and Literary Translation and Co-Director of the Centre for Dante Studies at the University of Leeds, Dr Daniel Newman, Professor in Modern Languages and Cultures at Durham University, and Yao Yi, editorial lead for international literature at Yilin Press, one of the most prestigious literary publishers in China. Yao is editor of the 700th Anniversary Illustrated Collection of The Divine Comedy in China.

Their conversation covered themes ranging from Dante in translation; his global literary contemporaries, and how these great writers continue to influence writers today.