The International Lawrence Durrell Society requests proposals for 20-minute presentations on fictional, dramatic, or poetic cycles from the modernist era. Such cycles may include explicit trilogies (tetralogies, etc.) or works connected in more implicit ways. Potential subjects include:

• Fictional cycles such as Durrell’s The Alexandria Quartet, Manning’s The Fortunes of War, Miller’s The Rosy Crucifixion, Richardson’s Pilgrimage, Dos Passos’s USA, Lawrence’s “Brangwen” novels, and Ford’s Parade’s End
• Dramatic cycles such as Stein’s Historic Drama trilogy, O’Neill’s Tale of Possessors, Self-Dispossessed, and Yeats’ Cuchulain cycle.
• Poetic cycles/epics such as Ezra Pound’s Cantos, Bunting’s Briggflatts, Crane’s The Bridge, Loy’s Love Songs, HD’s Trilogy, Rukeyser’s The Book of the Dead, and Hugh MacDiarmid’s A Drink Man Looks at the Thistle.
• Narratological and psychological space in multi-volume works
• Definitions of the cycle
• Consistency and the multi-volume narrative
• Plot, style, and editing: loose, baggy monsters or taut epics?
• Secondary characters and narrative doubling: hidden in plain sight
• Reevaluations: depictions of the Other

Deadline for submission of proposal is 9 September 2019.

Please plan for a presentation of no more than twenty minutes. Submit proposal by email to jdecker@icc.edu

 Include two attachments in pdf, rtf or doc format:

1. The first attachment should consist of a 300-word abstract (double-spaced and titled), omitting all references to the submitter.
2. The second attachment should contain a cover page that includes the following information:

• Name as it will appear in the program
• Address (preferably home address)
• E-mail address (necessary to confirm your acceptance)
• Academic affiliation, if applicable
• Title of paper/work (as it will appear in the program)
• National origin/genre of work(s) discussed (please be specific)
• Personal biographical note (100-150 words)

The 48th annual Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture after 1900 will be held at the University of Louisville, February 20-22, 2020.

Please see the conference’s official website for additional information.