American Literature Association - 36th Annual Conference - May 21-24, 2025
The Jonathan Bayliss Society invites proposals for two panels at the annual conference of the American Literature Association, which will be held May 21-24, 2025, at the Westin Copley Place in Boston. For information about the conference see https://americanliteratureassociation.org/ala-conferences/ala-annual-conference.
1: American Experimental Fiction
The Jonathan Bayliss Society invites proposals for a roundtable on American experimental fiction. Beginning at least as early as Moby-Dick, American experimental fiction flourishes in the work of Stein, Burroughs, Pynchon, Gass, and Bayliss, and continues today with such writers as Giannina Braschi, Karen Russell, Colson Whitehead, Lance Olsen, and Mark Danielewski. Such writers disrupt conventions of genre, style, syntax, diction, propriety, narrative form, page layout, and much more. We are interested in papers devoted to particular works or authors as well as more wide-ranging or theoretical approaches to the topic. Please submit abstracts of no more than 250 words along with your academic affiliation (if any) and a brief biographical note to Gary Grieve-Carlson at grieveca@lvc.edu by January 25, 2025.
2: Charles Olson, Vincent Ferrini, and Jonathan Bayliss in Gloucester: Poetry, Prose, and Place
The Charles Olson Society and the Jonathan Bayliss Society are pleased to announce a collaborative panel that will focus on writers who were inspired by Gloucester, Massachusetts, and Cape Ann. The richness of Cape Ann, its history, people, and geography, deeply influenced poets Charles Olson and Vincent Ferrini as well as novelist Jonathan Bayliss. How did these figures incorporate Gloucester’s geography, history, population, ecology, or other distinct elements in their work? How does place influence and determine the nature of a poet’s or novelist’s writing?
By exploring the unique contributions of these three writers and their myriad connections to Cape Ann and Gloucester, this panel will seek to understand the environmental influences that a certain place can play when directing or inspiring creative output. How did these three figures employ the history or sense-data of Cape Ann to imagine new modes of engagement while writing of environmental care, historical consciousness, or civic engagement? We will be particularly invested in abstracts that address how the ground beneath the writer’s feet made for a literature that returned, again and again, to the local and global events of the land, the community, and history. Those interested should send a 250 word abstract to Joshua Hoeynck (jsh115@case.edu), to Jeffrey Gardiner (jeffreyjgardiner@gmail.com), and to Catherine Bayliss (president@jonathanbayliss.org) no later than January 27, 2025. Please include your academic affiliation (if any) and a brief biographical note with your abstract.