Session proposed for Western Literature Association
Big Sky, Montana Sept. 21-Sept. 24, 2016

This year's conference theme is The Profane West, including what is underrepresented, undervalued, censored, denied, and/or secretly shared. The novels of Jane Smiley frequently explore the poisonous effects of the unexamined ideologies, negotiations, and secrets that she presents as integral to the development of the West. This session invites papers that examine the relationship of Smiley's fiction to The Profane West.

Please send a 300-word abstract pasted in the body of the email by May 13, 2016 to AbeleE@ncc.edu, with "WLA Jane Smiley" in the Subject line. I will submit the session to the WLA June 1.

For more information see http://www.westernlit.org/wla-conference-2016/.