cfp.english.upenn.edu

I seek essays that advance readings their authors do not believe in. Or rather, I seek essays that advance bad readings alongside a defense of their badness. Reading can take many forms: interpreting, assessing, studying, translating, extracting, detecting, speaking, etc. Bad can too: poor, unpersuasive, worthless, inferior, counterfeit, impure, incomplete, invalid, inappropriate, evil, unpleasant, etc. All contributions will make a case for the critical value of reading badly. All will rage against the disciplinary machines that manufacture distinctions between good and bad. All the same, all will be good essays. I especially welcome contributions that discuss past or present experience with the peer-review and publication process.

Contributions from all humanities disciplines are welcome. Contributions can also be short or long (15,000 words max). Please send 300-word abstracts and a short bio to me (wstockt@clemson.edu) by May 1. I plan to submit this collection to Punctum Books (punctumbooks.com).