Dr Kirsten A Harris

My current long-view interdisciplinary research focuses on utopian texts, thought and practice across different time periods. I am interested in the problems humans navigate when trying to design and manifest better societies, worldbuilding as a collective endeavour, and the extent to which utopian creative expression might function as a tool of radical hope. I am managing editor of the leading journal in the field, Utopian Studies.

My first monograph, Walt Whitman and British Socialism: 'The Love of Comrades' was published by Routledge in 2016. It explores the ways that the American poet was interpreted, appropriated and put to use by British socialists at the turn of the century, despite his outright refusal to endorse a socialist political programme. Reviewers have described the book as an “important contribution to transnational Whitman studies” (Walt Whitman Quarterly Review) and “henceforth, [the likely] point of departure for scholars interested in the Whitman/British socialist nexus” (Victorian Studies). I serve as an editorial board member for the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review.

My final major concern is socialist print culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, particularly in the poetry of the so-called “socialist revival”. I'm interested in debates in the socialist press about poetic voice, form, aesthetic and canon, and how these discussions were integrated in nuanced ways into debates about the nature and purpose of socialism itself. Poet and activist Edward Carpenter is a special interest.

I lead creative community workshops, participate in engagement events, and give public talks on topics relating to Walt Whitman, Edward Carpenter, utopias and the relationship between art and activism. I'm very open to discussing possible collaborations with community groups and external organisations.