It should be emphasized that though we especially encourage presentations dealing with the theme we welcome proposals for papers and panels which deal with any and all aspects of the seven-state Mississippi River Delta region or with the blues, perhaps the region’s most famous export. We particularly invite presentations on artists who have appeared at previous symposia (fiction writers such as Lewis Nordan, Ellen Douglas, Scott Ely, Steve Yarbrough and Beverly Lowry; poets like Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey, Jo McDougall, and Sterling Plumpp; visual artists, including James Fraher, David Rae Morris, and Maude Schuyler Clay; and such musicians as Alvin Youngblood Hart, Kenny Neal, Little Milton, and Billy Lee Riley). At present, novelist Jack Butler, poet Ralph Burns, and James “Super Chikan” Johnson, musician, will be in attendance.

Program proposals may be for individual presentations or for panels. These should be sent as 100-word abstracts. We also urge participation by creative writers and other artists. Please send samples of previous work for our consideration. The submission deadline is 22 January 2008. The registration fee of $25.00, which covers Symposium expenses and brings a one-year subscription to Arkansas Review, will be collected after proposals have been accepted. Note that this fee is waived for currently enrolled students.