Diffused Eroticisms: Love, Friendship, and Bisexuality in the Writings of Iris Murdoch
Free and open to the public!
Please join the Center for Ethics and Values for the first public forum of the semester:
Diffused Eroticisms: Love, Friendship, and Bisexuality in the Writings of Iris Murdoch
Miles Leeson, Reader in English Literature, Director of the Iris Murdoch Research Centre, University of Chichester
Mark Hopwood, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
While she is pre-eminent as one of the twentieth century's great novelists and philosophers, Iris Murdoch's life as a poet has languished in the shadows. Yet throughout her life she wrote, revised and re-wrote a sizeable collection of poems; publishing some but keeping many private and—ultimately—shut in a chest in her attic.
Their recent discovery marks a significant literary event. Ranging over nearly six decades, these searing, confessional poems balance craft with playfulness; psychological insight with Murdoch's own personal feelings. As an autobiographical account, they are unlike anything else. They shine a new light on Iris Murdoch's turbulent relationships with men and women, her decades-long marriage and extraordinary life.
At this event, Miles Leeson—co-editor of the recently released Poems from an Attic (2026), a carefully edited collection of Murdoch's posthumously discovered poems—will discuss Murdoch's exploration of the boundaries of poetry, philosophy, relationships, and sexuality with Mark Hopwood, UMBC faculty member and author of the book Iris Murdoch's Moral Philosophy (2025).
Following the discussion, we will invite the audience to join the conversation!
Preregistration is encouraged but not required.
Questions? Please email ethics@umbc.edu
This event is presented by the Center for Ethics and Values and co-sponsored by Department of Philosophy; Dresher Center for the Humanities; Department of English; Department of Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies
This public forum is open for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University's nondiscrimination policy.