New Directions in Early American Poetry Studies

A panel organized and sponsored by the Society of Early Americanists as part of "American Poetry: A Symposium," sponsored by the American Literature Association and the Society for the Study of American Poetry, to be held March 26–28, 2026 at the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, MA. For more information: https://americanliteratureassociation.org/ala-conferences/ala-symposia/a...

This panel invites papers and presentations that highlight new directions and recent developments in the study of early American poetry and poetics. Topics might include (but are not limited to):

• New readings/re-readings of canonical early American poems and poets.
• Revisitations of "classic" critical and scholarly works that have shaped the field of early American poetry studies.
• Developments in archival work and/or digital humanities projects.
• Pedagogical strategies for teaching early American poetry – particularly in introductory/core/general education classes and broader survey courses.
• New theoretical approaches and/or "keywords" for the study of early American poetry and poetics.
• The relevance of early American poetry in the 21st century. Why early American poetry now?
• Pressing questions for and/or critical gaps in early American poetry studies.

Please send short abstracts (no more than 250 words) and a brief bio to Joshua Bartlett at jcbartlett@gmail.com by Wednesday, October 8th. Proposals from non-tenure-track faculty, graduate students, and independent scholars are particularly encouraged. Pending sufficient interest, a second SEA-sponsored panel on the same theme (or a similar one) may be a possibility as well.