Dear Members:
The Society sponsored
two outstanding panels at the American Literature Association Conference
in Boston at the end of May: one an omnibus session representing new
directions in Faulkner studies, the other a panel on Pylon. Both
sessions were unusually well attended, offered lots of new ideas, and
generated excellent conversations. Full details of the sessions appear
on the “Panels” link of our website. A few of the papers have been
posted there; the rest will follow as they are ready.
The panels for MLA
also have been posted on our website; scheduling information will be
forthcoming. We’ll place our calls for papers in October in the U Penn
list-serv, with deadlines in January for ALA sessions and March for
MLA. In addition, I welcome inquiries about ideas especially for topics
you’d like to see WFS take on, for individual papers or panels, and also
for larger projects, such as collaborations with other author societies
or cognate professional organizations.
The Society’s website
has moved to its own permanent domain address: http://www.faulknersociety.com/index.htm
Our former site will
forward hits directly to the new address. I want to thank Prof. David
Davis, at Wake Forest University, for conducting this switch, and for
volunteering to manage the website for the immediate future. I also
want to thank Prof. David Evans of Dalhousie University for having set
up the original website, and to the University of Mississippi for
hosting the site over the past few years. The cost of procuring a
permanent domain was nominal. Among other advantages, the site enables
us to offer Paypal options for membership dues, a feature especially
desirable to international members. Please check out the new site and
send me your reactions!
You’ll find Prof.
Peter Lurie’s report on the business meeting elsewhere in this
newsletter. The meeting also was well attended and produced excellent
suggestions for expanded uses for some prize money and other modest
funds we’ve accumulated.
I’m pleased to
announce that this year’s winner of the John W. Hunt Memorial
Scholarship to the Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference is Jennie
Joiner, a doctoral candidate in English literature at the University of
Kansas. Ms. Joiner has also been selected to present a paper on one of
the panels at this year’s conference.
Our fall newsletter
will include a formal reminder to renew your membership before the end
of the calendar year. Memberships run for the calendar year.
Multiple-year renewals make life dreamy.
All best wishes for
the remainder of your summer,
John T. Matthews
President
Minutes for the
Business Meeting at MLA
The MLA business
meeting of the WFS took place on Friday, December 29, 2006 at the
Marriot Philadelphia hotel.
Attendees introduced
themselves: Leigh Ann Duck; Anne Goodwyn Jones; David Davis; Robert Dale
Parker; Jay Watson (Vice President) John Duvall (member at large); Peter
Lurie (Treasurer-Secretary), Jack Matthews (President).
Jack pointed out that
because of the fact that there are two panels at MLA sponsored by the
Society, we don’t have an officially scheduled meeting time. Hence the
impromptu gathering after the first panel.
Officers described
current WFS activities:
Jack reported that
WFS Newsletter had been mailed in the fall, and that its announced
changes in policies, such as the calendar for nominating Hunt
scholarship, had prompted no objections. Jack also noted that the board
had approved circulating an email-only version of the Newsletter in the
future, henceforth a change also indicated in the Fall Newsletter.
Anticipated content
for the Spring Newsletter: Hunt scholarships for F&Y; the next year
panels at 2007 meetings of the ALA (Boston, May) and MLA (Chicago,
December).
Jack then raised some
questions about the Hunt scholarships:
He pointed out that
last year, there was just one nominee, a beginning graduate student who
was eventually awarded the scholarship for 2006. In 2005 there were
three nominees; all were more mature students and reportedly made fuller
use of the conference. He encouraged members to consider carefully the
maturity of the graduate students we might nominate.
John Duvall suggested
that the Hunt nominations include postdoctoral candidates and adjuncts.
Jay asked: would we
have to approach the Hunt fellowship sponsors to change the category of
nominees? Several answered said that we wouldn’t have to.
Jay then offered that
Master’s level candidates were sometimes not advanced enough in their
studies to have committed fully enough to focus on Faulkner.
Jack asked if there
were other ways to use the money, such as: a prize for the best grad
student essay on Faulkner? Money for travel to MLA? Suggested that we
solicit from other Society members, other awards that they or their
institutions could sponsor.
Peter described the
current WFS membership and account. Total number of new or renewing
members was nearly 320, with several members still listed but not
necessarily current with dues payments. As of December, 2006, the WFS
account had $2,280.48. He mentioned the time-intensive process of
receiving and depositing checks as dues payments along with the
communications to the Faulkner Journal about new subscriptions.
Jack asked about
offering multi-year membership as an option.
Jay said he’s spoken
to people about the PayPal option, especially for international
members-to-be, as a way to facilitate dues payments and allow them to be
made on line.
Jack then asked if
there were anyone with particular skills of web design who might help
with adding a PayPal account to the WFS website. David Davis offered to
lend some help in this capacity. (He and Peter have since communicated
about the account and its launch date will be in early June, 2007).
Jack then raised a
new topic. He indicated that there are many people who work on
Faulkner, but who are not members. He asked about ways to sponsor
projects that range outside of single author studies.
Jay spoke about
building relationships w/other author societies: co-sponsoring
conference panels, co-authoring papers, among them, the Willa Cather
society. Members suggested talking to their officers in the interest
of increasing the range of WFS-involved scholarship. David suggested
Welty and Morrison as other possible links.
Anne Jones mentioned
that there is a Faulkner society in Japan and the Faulkner Foundation in
Rennes, France. John Duvall asked about connections with the Center for
the Study of Southern Culture at the U. of Mississippi.
Jay offered that such
connections might open up the prospect for another panel at national
conferences. John mentioned the Louisville conference on 20th
C. literature. David Davis and Peter Lurie offered a similar statement
about MSA.
General discussion
followed about other writers gathering momentum through attention at
conferences such as Toni Morrison in the 90s. Jack then asked if we
wanted to consider topics that did not restrict themselves to Faulkner.
For instance, a panel on Southern Studies/trauma studies in the South.
John Duvall responded
that The FJ could take that on.
Anne Jones and others
then talked generally about the various conferences and associations
doing work that would accommodate Faulkner: the Southern ASA meeting in
Oxford in the spring; a Blues Symposium at Ole Miss.
Leigh Ann Duck raised
a question that the Society might want to consider, which had to do with
impressions outside Faulkner studies about “Why Faulkner?” Jack
responded with a reference to Rebecca Mark’s article in the FJ: “Why we
should stop teaching Faulkner?”
Anne Jones then
mentioned that she was having talks w/Houghton-Mifflin and said that the
New Southern Studies series needs its own a publication organ. Ed
Francisco’s collection did not do as well as hoped, so H-M is tentative
about an anthology. Others mentioned that a collection of new Southern
materials that would treat Faulkner but also the Caribbean might want to
seek another press.
Other discussion
followed about a felt need among members for collections, conference
work on Faulkner in a hemispheric or global context, potentially in
connection with journals or special issues about the Global South. Jack
and Jay brought up connections to the Flannery O’Connor Society via a
spring conference at Georgia State.
Jack the raised a new
practical consideration by the MLA about holding the convention at a new
date such as the first Thursday after Jan. 2; he solicited responses and
suggested circulating this question among members. He also mentioned
that the MLA was perhaps going to delete evening sessions.
Others responded that
several people do attend the evening sessions. The greater concern was
the MLA scheduling related panels at the same time.
Following suggestions
by many that a later date for the MLA convention was preferable, Anne
mentioned that the American Historical Association has its meeting in
the same period; she asked if this would pose competition for members.
Robert Dale Parker responded that it would be the publishers who would
find the concurrent schedules difficult.
Discussion followed
about the overall value and role played by the book exhibits,
potentially in relation to the other needs of conference goers. Several
people pointed to the important role played of meeting with publishers,
editors, etc.
Jack raised the
important question of pursuing the need for an allocated space during
the MLA conference for the WFS business meeting. Noted that we would
like to have such a space without having to give up one of the allocated
special sessions. Others mentioned ideas such as having a cash bar or
sharing a space with another author society.
Meeting finished with
discussion of possible panel topics for upcoming ALA and next year’s MLA
conferences. Jack indicated that there would be an open CFP for ’07
panels. Possible topics included Faulkner and African-American/African
history (someone mentioned Keith Cartwright’s book on this topic),
Faulkner in Haiti and the Caribbean. Jack mentioned the Society’s
effort to have the CFPs genuinely open but to also use them to promote
new work or follow up on previously considered topics. He invited
continued input for what panel topics people might suggest.
Meeting was called to
adjourn.
Peter Lurie
Secretary-Treasurer
Minutes for the
Business Meeting at ALA
The ALA business
meeting of the Society took place on May 25th, 2006, at the
Copley Westin Hotel in Boston, MA.
Jack Matthews,
Society President, began the meeting by asking those attending to
introduce themselves. He then announced the WFS panels selected for the
MLA conference in Chicago. He also announced that the WFS website was
establishing an independent domain, to succeed the site maintained by
the U of Mississippi. He referred to the fact that David Davis was
managing and setting up the site as a permanent, non-institutional
presence.
A question came up
about posting the Society panel papers on the website before the ALA and
MLA conferences, so that people attending those panels could have a
better sense of the papers. Jack responded, indicating that he’d prefer
to post abstracts of papers before the panel and the full text of papers
after the conferences. Most agreed that this seemed helpful.
A brief discussion
followed about the Society reminding members of their status, in which
Jack and the Treasurer-Secretary indicated that reminders about renewing
membership are included in each newsletter. Jack pointed out that
people generally don’t welcome multiple emails.
The T-S reported on
the status of the Society and its account, indicating that as of April
30th membership was approximately 240 and that the WFS
account held $2,354.88.
Discussion then
turned to the John W. Hunt Memorial Fund, the sponsor of a graduate
student scholarship to attend the Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha
conference. The prize is for students working on Faulkner and it pays
for their conference fee and the price of one of the day tours.
A related question
was posed about alternative uses of WFS money, such as an annual award
for the best new article on Faulkner or the best Faulkner-related book,
awarded on a yearly or a three-year cycle. Mike Zeitlin indicated that
Faulkner Journal gives an annual award for the best article.
Jack noted that other author societies do this to recognize the value of
new work. Peter Lurie asked a general question about whether those
present thought that granting such an award would be a way of
encouraging new and better scholarship—or if we thought that the current
state of work on Faulkner was not in need of external bolstering.
Mike Zeitlin asked
about using WFS money to subsidize travel costs to conferences such as
the ALA, which was seconded by Deborah Clarke. Jack responded by
suggesting an ALA travel fund. He then asked about the best mechanism
for implementing such a fund. David Earle raised a related question
about people applying for “research grants” through the Society to pay
for, for example, publishing permissions and copyrights. Peter asked
whether the Hunt fellowship money could also be used for other awards or
support.
A brief discussion
followed about raising the cost of membership dues or allowing members
to contribute additional funds for the purposes of a travel pool. Most
present agreed that the current $10 membership was a fair cost.
Discussion then
returned to the question of the Hunt fellowship and the prospect of
opening it up to undergraduates. David Evans asked about announcing it
through English departments and the F&Y’s announcement generally. Jack
indicated that it was listed on the Ole Miss website.
The group then
covered the mechanism for listing conference panels and selecting
papers. Jack reminded everyone that CFPs for ALA and MLA go out in
October. Peter mentioned the process of accepting proposals for both
pre-constituted panels and stand-alone papers. Mike asked about the
number of submissions for Society-sponsored panels at this year’s
conferences. Jack indicated that the overall numbers of submissions for
this year was slightly higher than last but that we’re still working to
get six strong papers per conference out of the submissions. He pointed
out that we encourage people to re-submit proposals that have interest
but that may not fit a particular panel configuration.
We moved toward a
close by raising possible topics for future Society panels. Among those
mentioned were: Faulkner and disability studies; Faulkner and
materialism (with a focus on archival studies); Faulkner and Death (a
topic that Mike is working on for a panel with Chip Arnold); Faulkner
and Whiteness (to follow up on the current issue of the Faulkner
Journal); Faulkner and Economics.
A question arose
again about collaborating with other author societies and participating
in national academic societies, such as the MSA and ASA, and foreign
societies such as European American Studies and British Southern
Studies. Someone pointed out that the Louisville conference on
narrative is now reserving panels for author societies.
The meeting closed
with a brief discussion of a potential change in format for MLA
presentations. Jack mentioned the prospect of more roundtable
discussions, for example. Deborah Clarke proposed a roundtable on the
future of single-author studies…..
The meeting was
called to adjourn.
Peter Lurie
Secretary-Treasurer
Letter from the President
Dear Members,
It’s my pleasure to
write to you as the recently installed president of the society, as well
as on behalf of my fellow new officers: Jay Watson, Vice President;
Peter Lurie, Secretary-Treasurer; and Doreen Fowler and John Duvall,
Members-at-Large. We anticipate a lively three years serving the
Faulkner Society.
I want to begin by
thanking the outgoing officers for their conscientious work over their
terms: Anne Goodwyn Jones, President; Catherine Gunther Kodat,
Secretary-Treasurer; and Evelyn Jaffe Schreiber and Donald Kartiganer,
Members-at-Large.
Elsewhere in this
newsletter you will find the minutes of our last business meeting, held
at the ALA Conference in San Francisco in May. Since then, the board of
officers has assembled a list of tasks we’d like to address as we begin
our terms. Some of these ideas are elaborated below in connection with
the individual items of Society business that they involve. We welcome
your comments, questions, suggestions of other issues the Society might
take up, and, especially, offers of help in any of the initiatives we
commit to.
You’ll also find a
calendar of deadlines and other important dates below. Please let me
know if there are others we should incorporate.
At the members’
business meeting at ALA, those present discussed possible topics for
forthcoming conference sessions. The board proposes that this year we
issue calls for papers and panels for ALA and MLA in 2007 inviting
submissions on unrestricted topics. Please see details below.
Don’t hesitate to
contact me about these or any other Society matters at
jtmattws@bu.edu.
Sincerely,
John T. Matthews
President
Business Meeting
Minutes: ALA Conference, Spring 2006
Business meeting of
William Faulkner Society at the American Literature Association held
Saturday, May 27, at 2 p.m., at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero in San
Francisco.
Present: outgoing
president Anne Goodwyn Jones; outgoing secretary-treasurer Katie Kodat;
incoming president Jack Matthews; incoming member-at-large Doreen
Fowler; also Deborah Clarke; Millie Kidd; Marty Kreiswirth; Barbara
Ladd.
The meeting began
with Anne Goodwyn Jones announcing the new WFS officers: Jack as
president, Jay Watson as vice-president; Peter Lurie as
secretary-treasurer; Doreen Fowler and John Duvall as members-at-large.
Anne expressed her thanks to her outgoing board members; Jack in his
turn thanked Anne and Katie for their work for the society.
Jack turned to the
issue of WFS panels for ALA and MLA 2007, noting that at this year's MLA
the society would sponsor two panels: one called "Faulkner Under
Representation" and the other, organized by David Davis, called
"Regionalism and Modernism."
The ALA business
meeting traditionally has been the place where society members begin
brainstorming topics for future convention panels, and this year
continued that tradition. Doreen wondered if we could consider the idea
of issuing an open call. Katie noted the society has done something
like that in the past, and Jack concurred, saying that we have issued
"flexible calls" that propose topics but invite papers on any topic
related to Faulkner. Marty observed that in practice even panels with
topics are often fairly loosely organized. Jack noted that it seemed
MLA panels were more tightly tailored than those at ALA.
Deborah Clarke
suggested an "emerging scholars" panel that would feature new voices in
Faulkner scholarship. Doreen suggested a "multicultural Faulkner"
panel; Barbara suggested a panel that would read Faulkner through
African American history. Deborah noted the past success of the
"teaching Faulkner" panels and suggested that we might want to consider
them as a semi-regular feature at ALA, along the lines of the "Slow
Reading" panel. She observed that the "teaching" panels generally
seemed more accepted at ALA than MLA. Doreen wondered why we wouldn't
want to propose a "teaching Faulkner" panel for MLA; Anne replied that
her sense of MLA was that it was a venue for "cutting edge"
scholarship. Katie noted that recent editions of the ADE's
Profession on English and the future of the humanities seem to
indicate that the MLA might be becoming more interested in teaching
issues as part of its overall growing concern about the state of the
profession; Jack noted the recent MLA member survey on the convention
that likewise seemed to indicate that the society is considering major
changes in the organization of the annual meeting, including the
addition of special topic "mini-conferences" within the convention.
Several more topics
for panels were suggested: Faulkner and women writers; the idea of hope
in Faulkner's fiction; Faulkner and domestic space; Faulkner and food;
Faulkner and translation; Faulkner and the gay world; Faulkner and
consumer culture; Faulkner and film; Faulkner as cultural artifact.
Katie presented the
treasurer's report: the balance in the society's account as of May 4 was
$2,166.63.
Jack reminded those
at the meeting of the deadline for nomination of students for the
society's Hunt scholarship to the Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha
conference. Because The Faulkner Journal had made an extra-large
payment to this fund to cover 2004's scholarship winner, they made no
contribution last year. Jack said he would get in touch with Dawn
Trouard to see about the journal's contribution for this year's
scholarship.
There was
considerable discussion about the issue of how to handle members whose
dues payments were in arrears. Katie indicated that currently the
treasurer/secretary sends a general reminder for dues payments with the
fall newsletter. There was some discussion as to whether a more
targeted reminder was in order, with a letter going out over the
president's signature only to those members in arrears. Barbara
suggested that such a letter should indicate the benefits of WFS
membership. This led to a discussion of ways to further develop those
benefits. Suggestions included the creation of a password-protected
part of the WFS website that would contain conference papers, the
newsletter, and the membership list. All agreed that members should be
encouraged to renew their memberships in multiple year increments.
Jack suggested that
it was probably time for the society to move to an electronic-only mode
of circulating the newsletter. Katie agreed and noted that currently a
little fewer than 50 members have not supplied an e-mail address.
Perhaps the next issue of the newsletter should go out by post to those
members with a notice that this will be the last newsletter distributed
in hard copy, and urging those members to supply us with an e-mail
address.
The WFS website is
currently housed at the University of Mississippi (along with Jay
Watson, the new vice-president). Jack reported that he has already been
in touch with the IT people at OleMiss and been given access to the
site. Anne asked whether we wanted to investigate the possibility of
setting up a chatroom or a listserv. Katie noted that the Narrative
listserv currently has a good deal of difficulty keeping out cranks and
spammers. Anne noted the excellent standard set by the listservs
overseen by H-Net at Michigan State University.
The meeting was
adjourned shortly after 3 p.m.
Minutes prepared by
Catherine Gunther Kodat, former Secretary-Treasurer
Calendar of
Events, Deadlines, and Notification Dates
January 1: Calendar
year membership dues
January 15: Deadline
for submission to WFS of proposals for American Literature Association
sessions
March 1: Deadline for
submission to WFS of proposals for Modern Language Association sessions
March 15: Deadline
for Hunt/Faulkner Journal nominations for scholarships to Faulkner &
Yoknapatawpha Conference
March 30:
Notification of Hunt scholars
Early April: Spring
Newsletter
April 1: MLA deadline
for program copy for affiliate organizations
April 7: MLA deadline
for panel participants to join MLA
May 24-27: ALA
Conference (2 panels, scheduled business meeting)
July 27-30: Faulkner
& Yoknapatawpha Conference
September: Fall
Newsletter;
October: Calls for
Papers posted U Penn website, ALA website
December 27-30: MLA
Conference (2 sessions, non-program business meeting)
