Call for proposals announced for Delta Blues Symposium XIV: Sense of Place

Jan. 14, 2008 -- The Department of English and Philosophy at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro announces its 14th annual Delta Blues Symposium, to be held Thursday-Saturday, March 27-29 on the ASU-Jonesboro campus. The theme for Delta Blues Symposium XIV is “Sense of Place.” Presentations are encouraged from scholars and students of the humanities and social sciences–especially anthropology, art history, economics, folklore studies, geography, history, literature, musicology, political science, and sociology. As well, contributions are sought from scholars and students of the physical and natural sciences.

It should be emphasized that although presentations dealing with the theme are encouraged, proposals are welcomed for papers and panels which deal with any and all aspects of the seven-state Mississippi River Delta region or with the blues, perhaps the region’s most famous export. Presentations are particularly welcome on artists who have appeared at previous symposia (fiction writers such as Lewis Nordan, Ellen Douglas, Scott Ely, Steve Yarbrough, and Beverly Lowry; poets like Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey, Jo McDougall, and Sterling Plumpp; visual artists, including James Fraher, David Rae Morris, and Maude Schuyler Clay; and such musicians as Alvin Youngblood Hart, Kenny Neal, Little Milton, and Billy Lee Riley).

This year, novelist Jack Butler, poet Ralph Burns, and musician James “Super Chikan” Johnson, are expected to attend the symposium.

Program proposals may be for individual presentations or for panels. These should be sent as 100-word abstracts. Participation by creative writers and other artists is sought as well. Please send samples of previous work for consideration. The submission deadline is Tuesday, Jan. 22.

The registration fee of $25.00, which covers symposium expenses and supplies a one-year subscription to Arkansas Review, will be collected after proposals have been accepted. Note that this fee is waived for currently enrolled students.

Proposals may be sent via post, e-mail, or fax to the following address:

Delta Symposium Committee
Department of English and Philosophy
PO Box 1890
Arkansas State University
State University, AR 72467
delta@astate.edu
Phone: 870-972-3043
Fax: 870-972-3045

Further information can be obtained by contacting the Delta Symposium Committee or by checking the Symposium website: http://www.clt.astate.edu/blues/

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