CFP: Writing the Midwest (11/20/06; SSML; 5/10/07-5/12-07)
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Call for Creative Nonfiction
for special panels at the Symposium of the Society for the Study of =
Midwestern Literature

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"The core of my territory," writes Scott Russell Sanders, "is the area =
within walking distance of my front door." Wendell Berry, speaking more =
broadly, calls his home ground "the place that is my own place, whose =
earth I am shaped in and must bear." While it may be true that "place =
is far more than a matter of geographical landscape," as the editors of =
Imagining Home: Writing from the Midwest wrote in their introduction =
eleven years ago, what seeps into our souls, shapes our speech, our =
stories and our dreams, and lingers just beyond sensing when we are gone =
are nevertheless very particular places-those small squares of land or =
corners of towns rich in natural and human texture.

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"People who know the place only by driving through [the Midwest] know =
the flatness," writes Michael Martone. What do those of us who live here =
know? What stories can we tell that will write our places-be they large =
or small, wild or tame-into being? The panel organizers seek =
well-crafted, original creative nonfiction essays for one or two panels =
of readings at the symposium of the Society for the Study of Midwestern =
Literature (SSML) from May 10-12, 2007. We are interested in a wide =
range of genres of creative nonfiction-from ethnographic or personal =
essays to memoir and nature writing-and in various forms-from =
conventional linear pieces to flash or segmented essays or those that =
are multi-voiced or collaboratively authored. Whatever the genre, =
whatever the form, these essays must evoke and/or explore a very =
specific place in the Midwest.

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Essays submitted for panel presentation will also be considered for an =
issue of Midwestern Miscellany devoted to essays on Midwestern places =
and tentatively scheduled for publication in 2008.=20

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Review of essays for panels will begin on October 1, 2006, and continue =
until Nov. 20. 2006. Please send one paper copy of completed essay to =
each panel organizer:=20

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Laura Julier, Department of Writing, Rhetoric, & American Cultures, 235 =
Bessey Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824

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Linda Elizabeth Peterson, Department of English, Anspach 227, Central =
Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859

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Please query either editor at julier_at_msu.edu or peter1l_at_cmich.edu.

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Finally, please note that you must be or become a member of the Society =
to present at its conferences and publish in its journals. See =
www.ssml.org for more information.

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Received on Wed Aug 23 2006 - 17:10:52 EDT