CALL FOR PAPERS: American Literature Association Conference in Chicago, IL, May 23-26, 2024

Bonnie Jo Campbell ‘s work is often categorized as rural noir and her topics and themes as rooted firmly in the Midwest. But her writing and characters often gesture to a universal and wider understanding of contemporary American tensions and her work invites comparison with other writers in the American tradition. For example Donna Seaman’s recent review of Campbell's newest novel, The Waters, is titled “High-Demand Read-alikes,” and the article lists 9 other books that have themes “similar” to The Waters. In his review of The Waters, Ron Charles compares Campbell to John Irving, but notes that the comparison, “subtracts nothing from Campbell’s originality to suggest that she’s taken up the mantle of John Irving.”  Campbell’s work both participates in these larger conversations and traditions and also interjects nuanced and original elements that emerge from her study of rural Midwestern lives.

This panel aims to explore the similarities, traditions, and intersections in Bonnie Jo Campbell’s work. Papers on all aspects of Campbell’s work are welcome; we are particularly interested in her new novel, The Waters.

Please send proposals of 150-200 words that includes a title and an abstract, before 1/26/2024, to Ellen Lansky, elansky@inverhills.edu or Lisa DuRose, ldurose@inverhills.edu