Petrol and the Poet

Join us for a one-day interdisciplinary event exploring the intersections of culture, energy, and international politics through a remarkable historical episode.

The programme opens with a talk by Dr Andrew Webb (Prifysgol Bangor University), an expert in petrofictions and Welsh literature, who will explore the entanglements of cultural production and energy economies.

This is followed by a screening of Pouring Water on Troubled Oil, a 26-minute documentary by Dr Nariman Massoumi (University of Bristol) about British Petroleum’s 1951 commissioning of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas to produce a promotional film in Iran. Dr Massoumi will introduce the film and provide context for its production.

The event concludes with a panel discussion on contemporary petrocultures featuring Dr Anya Kuteleva and Dr Aidan Byrne (University of Wolverhampton), alongside our guest speakers.

Organised by the Centre for Transnational and Transcultural Research and the Centre for Historical Research, University of Wolverhampton.

10:00 –Light refreshments
10:30–11:30 – Talk by Dr. Andrew Webb
11:30–12:30 – Introduction of the film by Dr. Nariman Massoumi
12:30–13:00 – Film Screening 
13:15-14:15 – Panel Discussion
14:15-15:00 – Light Lunch / Refreshments