The Evening Redness in the West: Blood Meridian at 40

Edited by Vernon W. Cisney, Jonathan Elmore, and Rick Elmore

At the time of Blood Meridian’s publication in the spring of 1985, Cormac McCarthy was recognized as an Appalachian novelist whose dark, Faulkneresque prose, sparing use of interiority in characterization, sparse punctuation, and stark portrayals of violence and depravity marked him as a talented, if relatively unknown, voice in American southern fictions. While at the time of its publication Blood Meridian was, like its author, known to only a small but dedicated group of mostly academic and literary readers, its publication proved to be a profound turning point in McCarthy’s literary career; Blood Meridian’s gruesome violence, metaphysical complexity, and stark, gripping prose coming to define, for many readers, not only McCarthy’s unique literary style, but his most significant contribution to American letters. While much has changed in the popular and academic reception of McCarthy’s work in the 40 years since its publication, Blood Meridian remains for many readers his greatest and most paradigmatic literary achievement. Moreover, with the publication of McCarthy’s final two novels and the profound growth in the reception of McCarthy’s work since 1985, Blood Meridian’s 40th anniversary seems the perfect time for a return and reassessment of this classic text. Hence, we invite papers on any aspect of Blood Meridian, its importance and place in McCarthy’s literary and philosophical project, its status in 21st century American literature, and its influence and impact on other novelists and writers. 

Possible chapter topics could include but are not limited to:

• Relationship to other of McCarthy’s works

• Reflections on Judge Holden, the Kid, Toadvine, etc. 

• Moral and ethical commitments

• Metaphysical and theological readings

• Thematic questions of identity, race, gender, and ability 

• New analyses of formal elements and conventions 

• The role of criminality, law, and violence

• McCarthy’s treatments of the US/Mexico border

• Historical and linguistic elements

• Environmental concerns and treatments

• Economic, anti/late/post-capitalist elements

• McCarthy and philosophy

• Impacts of the novel on later 20th and 21st century American authors

Authors should send 500 word abstracts (we’re not overly attached to word count) and brief CVs to Jonathan Elmore (jonelmore.english@gmail.com). Inquiries welcome. Final chapter manuscripts should be between 6000-8000 words. 

Tentative timeline for this project:

Abstracts due: December 1st, 2024.

Authors notified of acceptance: December 15th, 2024

Full chapters due: May 1st, 2025.