The Charles Olson Society and the Jonathan Bayliss Society are pleased to announce a collaborative panel to be held at the upcoming American Literature Association Conference in Boston, May 21-24, 2025. This panel will focus on writers who were inspired by Gloucester, Massachusetts and Cape Ann. The richness of Cape Ann, its history, people, and geography, deeply influenced poets Charles Olson and Vincent Ferrini as well as novelist Jonathan Bayliss. How did these figures incorporate Gloucester’s geography, history, population, ecology, or other distinct elements in their work? How does place influence and determine the nature of a poet’s or novelist’s writing? By exploring the unique contributions of these three writers and their myriad connections to Cape Ann and Gloucester, this panel will seek to understand the environmental influences that a certain place can play when directing or inspiring creative output. How did these three figures employ the history or sense-data of Cape Ann to imagine new modes of engagement while writing of environmental care, historical consciousness, or civic engagement? We will be particularly invested in abstracts that address how the ground beneath the writer’s feet made for a literature that returned, again and again, to the local and global events of the land, the community, and history.

Those interested should send a 250 word abstract to Joshua Hoeynck (jsh115@case.edu), to Jeffrey Gardiner (jeffreyjgardiner@gmail.com), and to Catherine Bayliss (president@jonathanbayliss.org) no later than January 27th. Please include your academic affiliation (if any) and a brief biographical note with your abstract.