Joe Orton and the New Queer Historicism

=20

The panel welcomes investigations into the life and plays of British
dramatist Joe Orton, with a particular emphasis on historicist =
approaches
covering the period 1957-1967. Inspired by recent contributions to LGBT
studies across a spectrum of scholarly subgenres, from critical
theory=97Michael Lucey=92s translation of Didier Eribon=92s Insult and =
the Making
of the Gay Self (2004)=97to literary biography with Neil McKenna=92s The =
Secret
Life of Oscar Wilde (2005)=97to cultural history in Matt Houlbrook=92s =
Queer
London (2005), the panel hopes specifically to reassess and expand on
Orton=92s legacy in light of new research into the experience of the
homosexual male from the fin de si=E8cle to 1967. Possible topics may =
include,
but are not limited to the following: re-evaluation of the classic
opposition in Orton criticism between John Lahr=92s originary =
representation
of the playwright in Prick Up Your Ears versus Simon Shepherd=92s =
polemically
contrarian =93answer text=94 Because We=92re Queers; contributions of =
Orton=92s
longtime partner Kenneth Halliwell, both creatively and editorially, to =
the
plays; Orton=92s place in the canon of middle to late 20th century =
British
drama vis-=E0-vis Beckett, Pinter, et al.; debate over the presence of
activist sensibilities in the socio-politically charged material of the
plays; and the social and historical circumstances that encouraged what
Orton scholar Francesca Coppa posits as a fictional alter ego in the
playwright=92s famously ribald diaries=97diaries providing a glimpse =
into the
impact of the post-=93Wolfenden Report,=94 pre-=93Sexual Offenses Act=94 =
era on the
sensibility of his texts as Orton occupies a pre-decriminalized =93queer
London.=94

=20

Send 300 word abstract with a short C.V. to Dan Burns at
dburns_at_gborocollege.edu by September 15, 2006. Accepted panelists must =
be,
or become current members of NeMLA by October 15, 2006.

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Received on Mon Jul 31 2006 - 22:02:21 EDT