Conrad in Africa and the Narrative Form of Heart of Darkness

About the lecture

In this module, we think about Conrad's own experiences in Africa, as recorded in 'A Personal Record' (1912) and 'Geography and Some Explorers' (1924), before exploring the several functions of the narrative form of the poem: an oral tale told by Marlow to a group of friends, who is himself introduced to the reader by an anonymous first-person narrator.
Reading list:
– Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (1899)
– Joseph Conrad, A Personal Record (1912)
– Joseph Conrad, Geography and Some Explorers (1924)
– Joseph Conrad, 'An Outpost of Progress' (1897)
– Joseph Conrad, Youth (1898)

About the lecturer

Keith Carabine did a Ph.d in American Studies at Yale, 1964-67 and has been at the University of Kent ever since, teaching English and American Literature (1967-2005), and is now a Senior Honorary Research Fellow. He has been a Committee member of the Joseph Conrad Society (G.B.) sine 1986 and was the Chair-person from 1996-2015. He has been the General Editor of Wordsworth Classics since 1994, and has edited several volumes, including The Selected Stories of Joseph Conrad.