Jackie Anderson Takes Part In Blue Humanities Week At UCA
The Gibraltarian writer Jackie Anderson was recently invited to take part in the University of Cádiz’s (UCA) Blue Humanities Week.
The week-long event is organised by UCA as part of its work with the Erasmus scheme to bring together international academics to share knowledge and expertise on specific topics which can then be translated back into improved teaching and learning opportunities in their home universities. The focus of the week was the sea and how the humanities can use the 'blue landscape' for learning.
Ms Anderson spoke about how the sea forms part of her physical and literary landscape, how she uses it for inspiration in poetry, and how references to the sea, rivers, lakes, and estuaries emerge within her writing.
Attendees from countries in Europe, Asia and Africa—as far afield as Poland and Bosnia to Turkey, the Ivory Coast and Zanzibar—heard Ms Anderson present her personal perspective on the sea.
Speaking to YGTV, she said: “I explained how the sea represents contrasting and opposite concepts: freedom and opportunity, boundary and limitation. My presentation was illustrated with personal photographs of the sea / rivers / estuaries, as I have almost always lived by the sea, or, in the UK, by the estuary opening into the North Sea and by large rivers—the blue landscape has been a feature of my outer and inner landscape all my life and permeates my view of the world, hence it appears in my writing.”
Ms Anderson also talked about the danger that the sea represents while acknowledging that all life comes from the sea or large bodies of water. She noted that, while the sea can feed and nurture humanity, it can also destroy.
Ms Anderson continued: “Mysticism was something else I touched on, and how sea monsters and other mythological creatures also find their way into my writing. This was quite an entertaining part of the talk, and some attendees shared their local stories of sea monsters or lake dwelling malevolent spirits—great fun!”
Ms Anderson says it was a good opportunity to speak about Gibraltar and its unique geo-political situation to persons who knew little about the Rock and who found the subject fascinating.
Professor Rafael Velez Nuñez (pictured below), who organised the event, gave an introduction explaining Gibraltar's recent history and the closure and reopening of the border and discussed the possibilities and changes that are opening up this month with the removal of the physical border, and how being hemmed in by the sea on almost all sides of the Rock gave a sense of imprisonment to many.
Ms Anderson concluded: “I also read a number of my poems to illustrate the different ways in which the blue landscape is represented in my work. There were ample opportunities for discussion afterwards and during the lunch period, and the attendees were very interested in pursuing discussion after the main talk.”
