The Creative Writing II: Poetry permanent section of the Midwest Modern Language Association seeks creative, critical, and hybrid proposals that connect to this year’s convention theme of "The Humanities is Where Hope Lives”. We are particularly interested in presentations from poets and poet-scholars who engage with the value of the Humanities in languages, literature, pedagogy, writing studies, linguistics, folklore, film studies, the digital humanities, and library studies. Any humanities-oriented poetics and praxis are welcome to address any element of these considerations that are pertinent to the discussion. 

Questions to consider include: How does (your) poetry and poetic practice engage with ‘humanity’ considering both capitalist and cultural pressure? How does poetry complicate or redefine the role of the ‘human’ in reshaping and building ‘hope’? What possibilities and interventions does poetry have to offer when it comes to defying the monetization of objects, phenomena, or even persons? 

The root word for this expansive field of Humanities is “human,” and as such, we welcome poetry, critical-creative papers, and digital poetics projects, and are especially interested in works that revolve around real human connection that hope for our future is fostered, sharing our common humanity as expressed through the written word, languages, and the literary arts. 

Presentations should be approximately 15 minutes in length and must be in-person only. 

To submit your work for consideration, please send a 200-300 word abstract and a brief bio to the section chair, Ola ElWassify (oaelwas@ilstu.edu), by April 15, 2025. Proposals of creative projects should include a brief sample of creative work (3-5 pages of poetry) along with the abstract. Please include your name, professional affiliation, e-mail address, and paper title in your submission. 

MMLA's 2025 convention will take place in Milwaukee, WI from November 14-16. More information about the convention can be found at: https://www.midwest-mla.org/convention