In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, humans are conditioned to seek out human companionship and to despise being by themselves. Helmholtz Watson, a lecturer of Emotional Engineering, relates a story to Bernard Marx about being disciplined for sharing some of his poems with the students he was paid to indoctrinate. When asked what the poems had been about, Helmholtz tells a surprised Bernard, “They were about being alone.”

Helmholtz, like many individuals in our world outside the novel, has a natural inclination to seek solitude. Some individuals choose to separate from community for short or long periods of time, retreating into the solitude of reflection and quiet. The flip side of solitude is loneliness, occurring when individuals experience unwanted distance from community and feel the lack of human connection. And then, there is an in-between state of those who simultaneously, and seemingly paradoxically, need copious alone time while also desiring community.

This creative session will showcase readings of original works of poetry and prose by writers who compose about being alone, whether from a standpoint of loneliness, solitude, or somewhere in between. Poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction are welcome in this session. Readers may also present a combination of genres.

Proposals are accepted through September 30, 2026. Abstracts are 200-300 words in length, and titles should not exceed 100 characters. Please submit your abstract at the session’s portal:  https://cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/22377

Modality: This session is in hybrid format (in person, but will accept remote presentations).   

The 58th NeMLA convention will take place March 6-9, 2027, in Newport, RI. For more information on the convention and to view NeMLA’s guidelines for abstracts, visit https://www.nemla.org 

Questions regarding the session may be addressed to Lori Cummings, LoNewco1@wsc.edu