You're invited to join the Oxford & Cambridge Society of San Diego for its Parlour Talk and Reception, The Blind Love Song of John Milton, presented by alumna Amrita Dhar (Peterhouse, 2008), Assistant Professor of Literature at UC San Diego, Past President of the Milton Society of America.

The evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with drinks and socializing, followed by the talk at 7:00 p.m. at the Mangelsen Gallery, 7916 Girard Ave., La Jolla Village. Free registration is available HERE. The talk will be followed by a no-host casual dinner at a local restaurant.

John Milton, the seventeenth-century English poet and polemicist, is perhaps best known today as the author of the epic Paradise Lost. He wrote his greatest poem after losing his sight and while living in political isolation following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, which ended England's brief experiment with Commonwealth government.

This talk will place Milton's work in the context of his life and times, exploring how his blindness, his profound love of poetry, and his commitment to intellectual inquiry shaped both Paradise Lost and its creation. Professor Dhar encourages attendees to read or revisit the poem beforehand and promises that it is a magnificent ride.

Amrita Dhar is a scholar of early modern studies, disability studies, postcolonial studies, and the environmental humanities. She has recently completed her first monograph, Milton's Blind Language and Disability Poetics.