cfp.english.upenn.edu

'I am a stranger in this world' says the nun, the narrator of a story of a forbidden book by Marguerite Porete. The year is 1340, thirty years after Marguerite was burned at the stake for writing and disseminating her heretical work, The Mirror of Simple Souls. The place is England, a Cistercian nunnery where she tells her story the night before her death, knowing that the book irretrievably changed but also shortened her life. But the idea of being a stranger in the world is not an uncommon one for many other Michele Roberts’ characters.

From the early feminists to postmodern protagonists her novels rewrite medieval saints and sinners, Victorian mediums and contemporary visionaries, offering us new perspectives on well known stories and motifs. Michele Roberts herself will be the guest of honor of LIES 2013, on 21st April, and her work is our inspiration; but we welcome papers about topics related to postmodern rewriting of history and culture as well as the feminist standpoint on both contemporary and earlier literature in English.

The deadline for abstract submissions is 15th December 2012. Please send your proposals and a short bio to dr Katarzyna Bronk (kbronk@wa.amu.edu.pl and bbronkk@gmail.com). More information at: http://wa.amu.edu.pl/hla/