The Paul Laurence Dunbar Society will sponsor two sessions at the American Literature Association Conference in San Francisco, CA on May 26-29, 2016.

Session 1: Dunbar's "Standard English" Poetry

While there has been a fair amount of critical work on Dunbar's dialect poetry—work often focusing on Dunbar's authentic black voice, his subversive racial politics, or his accommodation to white racist norms of the period—there has been much less critical work focusing on Dunbar's "formal English" poetry. How would an examination of Dunbar's formal verse—his use of the sonnet or the rondeau, for example, or his engagement with pastoral poetry—build on current critical conversations surrounding Dunbar's literary reputation? What can an examination of Dunbar's "standard" verse add to current critical conversations about Dunbar's poetics, and/or late 19th century American poetics writ large?

Session 2: Open Panel

Papers on any aspect of Dunbar's career, or that focus on any part of his literary output: poetry, novels, short stories, musical theater, correspondence, or essays. Proposals on teaching Dunbar and on Dunbar's relationships—both personal and professional—with other authors, editors, critics, or related historical figures are especially welcome.

Please e-mail abstracts and a brief CV by January 15, 2016 to:
Thomas L. Morgan at tmorgan2@udayton.edu