In honor of the 45th anniversary of the publication of This Bridge Called My Back, this panel seeks to explore the many ways in which ecocritical theory has expressed itself in the critical writings, poetry, prose, memoirs, and plays of Cherrie Moraga. In a time of extreme climate change denialism and the continued increase in global temperatures, directly leading to such climate disasters as the January 2025 wildfires in Southern California and the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene in the southern Appalachias in September 2024, Moraga's work will be read for approaches to climate resistance and positive change. Moraga has long held an interest in environmental issues, as seen in her 1992 play Heroes and Saints, about birth defects and cancer clusters caused by the use of insecticides in the San Joaquin Valley in the 1970s and 1980s and the protest response to their disproportionate effect on Hispanic communities by the United Farm Workers. To Moraga, the environmental struggle is part and parcel of the larger feminist struggle, and the political and the personal are unbreakable in their conjoined ties. This panel seeks papers focused on specific ecocritical works and strains of thought in Moraga, as well as comparative papers that bring in other authors and works to be read alongside Moraga, especially those that incorporate the work of Moraga's fellow activist and comadre, Gloria Anzaldua. If agreed upon by the accepted panelists, the papers presented at the session will be submitted for publication as a collected volume.

The submission form can be found at https://cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/21985 or on the NEMLA website.