NeMLA 2019 Panel: The Use of Audacity and Candor in Women's Literature

“Audacity” is having a moment in the women’s movement. Festivals, conferences and training sessions have used the term as shorthand for women speaking their truth and owning the power to direct the outcomes of their lives. (The Audacious Women Festival in Scotland and the Audacious Women’s Network in South Africa are two examples.)

Yet audacity is not new. Throughout history, outspoken women writers of fiction, poetry, and plays have positioned themselves in the vanguard of audacity, defying public censure and personal isolation to write candidly about their world. Transgression is a disruptor of patriarchal norms. Candor is transformational when it is deployed to pose questions, shatter stereotypes, and incite change.

We welcome papers that focus on the work of specific women authors from any culture or country, past or present. The unifying principle is the theme of audacity and transgressive honesty. All theoretical approaches are welcome. Abstracts should not exceed 300 words and be submitted no later than September 30, 2018.

Please submit abstracts at: https://www.cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/17438

Questions can be addressed to the chairs: Lane Glisson, lglisson@bmcc.cuny.edu and Adele Kudish, akudish@bmcc.cuny.edu