This NeMLA panel invites papers on all aspects of oral narrative and its connection to culture. Building on last year’s panel, “Speaking the Story: Orality and Fiction,” this year’s panel expands our discussion of orality in cultural, genre, and media scope. Your essay need not be cross-cultural in itself, as long as cultural context is addressed in your analysis. Dimensions of orality explored may include, but are not limited to:

Oral storytelling
Literary uses of oral voice, structure, or aesthetics Connections or tensions between orality, print, visuality, and/or musicality
Oral texts in postcolonial/decolonial/contracolonial contexts
Oral history in/through narrative
Community as defined through oral narrative and its offshoots

Please send 300 - 500 word abstract and 1 - 2 page CV to Trinna S. Frever, dr_frever@yahoo.com by Sept 12.

Please include “NeMLA” in the subject line of your message. Also include with your abstract:

Name and Affiliation
Email address
Postal address
Telephone number
A/V requirements (if any; $10 fee required)

40th Convention, Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA)
February 26 - March 1, 2009
Hyatt Regency - Boston, Massachusetts

The Northeast Modern Language Association is a regional division of the MLA. Additional conference information may be found on the NeMLA website: http://www.nemla.org/convention/index.html

Please note that while interested participants may submit abstracts to more than one NeMLA panel, panelists may only present one paper, so please plan accordingly.