This update is to alert people that the deadline
has been pushed back to 2/15/02 and to emphasize our
emphasis on receiving creative works along with critical
ones. Please pass this on to your students. Thanks!
Zac
Call for Papers--"Time of Transition: Developing Regional
Literatures" A Regional Conference on Literature and Film
for Students and Faculty
Will Weaver–Keynote Speaker
Friday, April 5, 2002
You are invited to submit presentation proposals
for a conference focusing on the development of regional
literature and film across the United States sponsored by
the English Department graduate students at Minnesota State
University, Mankato.
We welcome proposals that represent a variety of responses
to regional literature and film and all the spurs that
arise from the relationship between the author and
location(s). Region can be considered by traditional
denominations such as "Northeast" and "Southwest" and
creative appellations that involve fictional regions and
originally-demarcated regions that arise from scholarly
research, as well. Implicit in all of this is the fact
that original creative work makes all of these theoretical
considerations possible. If you have a story, poem, drama,
film, or any other creative work to share that is regional
in nature, we would very much like to hear it.
Proposals may either be individual- or panel-oriented.
These should include the following: a title; an abstract
not to exceed 300 words per individual; and a brief one
paragraph statement about the presenter, including academic
affiliation, mailing address, and email address. Panel
proposals should also include panel title. Please mention
any audio/visual requirements your presentation will
require.
Paper and panel topics include, but are not limited to
the following:
• Specific Regional Authors
• Regionalism as Critical Theory
• Regionalism and Its Relation to Film, Dance, Theater, Art, Memoir, Etc.
• Regionalism and Its Relation to Theory, Diaspora, Borderlands, Generational
Development, the Influence of the Homeland, the Immigrant Experience, Etc.
• Regionalism in a Variety of Settings–The City and the Backwoods, Triumph
and Despair, High Brow and Low Brow, Etc.
• Interdisciplinary Approaches to Regional Literature
• Creative Works of a Regional Nature (Film, Poetry, Art, Fiction, Etc.)
All abstracts should be received no later than Friday,
March 1, 2002. Notification of acceptance will be sent by
Friday, February 29, 2002.
Submit abstracts to:
Spring 2002 Time of Transition Conference, English Department,
Minn. St. U., Mankato, 230 Armstrong Hall, Mankato, MN 56001.
Fax: (507) 389-5362. Phone: (507) 389-1022.
Email: <[log in to unmask]>.
Go online at: <http://www.english.mnsu.edu/hanson/call_for_papers.htm>.
Minnesota State University, Mankato is an affirmative action/equal
opportunity educator and employer. This document is available in
alternative format to individuals with disabilities by calling the
Department of English at (507) 389-2117 or (800) 327-3529 (MRS/TTY).
Notes on the Keynote Speaker:
Will Weaver writes fiction for adults and young adults.
He was born in northern Minnesota in 1950 and grew up on a
dairy farm. He graduated from the University of Minnesota
in 1972 (B.A., English) and finished his M.A. in
English/Creative Writing at Stanford University. His six
books of fiction and many short stories have earned him
critical acclaim and a loyal audience of readers who
appreciate high quality realism. He writes from a
"regional" background of farm and small town life, often
focusing on the great changes swirling across American's
heartland. His story "Dispersal" was voted by the Library
of Congress as one of the top ten stories of
1985. Several of his stories, including "Dispersal" and "A Gravestone
Made of Wheat" have been produced by National Public Radio.
Mr. Weaver's debut novel, Red Earth, White Earth, was
published in 1986 by Simon & Schuster, and was produced as
a CBS television movie in 1989 starring Genevieve Bujold,
Richard Farnsworth, Ralph Waite and Timothy Daly. A
Gravestone Made of Wheat & other Stories (Simon & Schuster
1989) won many awards, including the Minnesota Book Award
for Fiction. The New York Times Book Review called it "A
graceful collection, one that views America's heartland
with a candid but charitable eye." Now in its fourth
paperback edition with Graywolf Press (Saint Paul), the
Gravestone Made of Wheat collection continues to make its
contribution to Midwestern literature.
Will Weaver recently has written several award-winning
works for young adults. His novels Striking Out, Farm Team
and Hard Ball (HarperCollins 1993/95/98) were chosen
variously as American Library Association "Best Books" for
young adults, and selected to school recommended reading
lists in Texas, South Carolina, Iowa and elsewhere.
Striking Out won a "Pick of the Lists" award from the
International Reading Association.
His short fiction for young adults can be found in
many anthologies, including Ultimate Sports, No Easy
Answers, and Time Capsule (Delacorte Press
1995,1997,1999). He is a featured author in most new
textbooks on young adult literature (notably the popular
Literature for Young Adults, 6th edition, edited by
Nilsen/Donelson and published by Prentice Hall). His young
adult fiction is used increasingly across the country by
middle and high school teachers who appreciate his
narrative style, one that combines reader accessibility
with literary value.
His newest short story "WWJD" is found in On the Fringe,
edited by Don Gallo (Dial Press 2001). This anthology of
short fiction by selected young adult authors implicitly
addresses the events at Columbine High School in Colorado,
1998. On the Fringe explores, imaginatively and without
comment, the nature of alienation among teenagers of today.
Mr. Weaver's newest young adult novel is Memory Boy
(HarperCollins, March 2001). He is at work on a sequel to
Red Earth, White Earth plus a collection of short stories
for adults, and travels widely speak on
issues of writing and literacy.
Will Weaver is married, has two teenagers and teaches
writing at Bemidji State University in northern Minnesota.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Donald F. Larsson, English Department, AH 230
Minnesota State University
Mankato, MN 56001
----
To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF Screen-L
in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]
|
