cfp.english.upenn.edu

For American Literature Association Conference, May 27-30, 2010

Alcott was known to refer to herself as Aesop's "goose who laid the golden egg" - once in a poem, "The Lay of the Golden Goose," written during her 1870 escape abroad; and again in her 1886 novel *Jo's Boys*, in the chapter "Jo's Last Scrape," which concerns attempts by Alcott's fictional persona, Jo March, to repel hordes of autograph seekers. To call Alcott's work popular is an understatement; from Alcott's day to our own, it has created a commercial enterprise of extraordinary profitability. From Madame Alexander dolls to comic books to award-winning biographies and inter-novels, to films, musicals, and operas, to the forthcoming mashup *Little Women and Werewolves*, the Alcott industry keeps on producing. This session will consider Alcott's fame and fortune in her own day as well as well as her continuing pop culture and political legacy.

Please send 200-300 word proposals electronically to Mary Shelden (mlshelden@vcu.edu). Deadline for proposals is Monday, 4 January 2010 (early submissions welcome).