Special Tribute Sessions at the MLA Conference

The Modern Language Association is presenting a special series of programs in tribute to Grace Paley. The Sunday Dec 28 forum is open to the public. The conference sessions are in San Francisco on Monday, Dec 29 at the San Francisco Hilton Hotel. If persons are interested in the conference sessions, they should email to mh2349@columbia.edu for a reservation.

A Forum: Grace Paley Writing the World: Literature and Legacy
Sunday, 28 December 1:45 - –3:30 p.m.,
Hilton San Francisco, Continental 1-2
Presiding: Marianne Hirsch, Columbia Univ.
Speakers: Dorothy Allison, Emory Univ.; Yvette Christianse, Fordham University; Galway Kinnell, New York Univ.

Monday, 29 December
508. The Story Hearer: Grace Paley’s Poetry and Prose
10:15–11:30 a.m., Hilton San Francisco, Golden Gate 3
A workshop arranged in conjunction with the forum Grace Paley Writing the World: Literature and Legacy (289)
Presiding: Sandy Alexandre, Massachusetts Inst. of Tech.
1. “Starting Out in the Fifties: Why Grace Paley Did Not Become Philip Roth and Why We Are Glad That She Didn’t,” Nancy K. Miller, Graduate Center, City Univ. of New York
2. “Grace Paley’s Formal Strategies,” Marianne DeKoven, Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick
3. “Grace Paley’s Prose of the City and Poetry of the Country,” Sidra DeKoven Ezrahi, Hebrew Univ.
4. “Lines and Lineages in Grace Paley’s Poetry,” Melissa Zeiger, Dartmouth Coll.

616. The Responsbility of the Poet: Grace Paley Writing Social Change
3:30–4:45 p.m., Hilton San Francisco, Golden Gate 3
A workshop arranged in conjunction with the forum Grace Paley Writing the World: Literature and Legacy (289)
Presiding: Florence Howe, Graduate Center, City Univ. of New York
1. “For Love of the Imperfect World,” Susan Griffin, California Inst. of Integral Studies
2. “Inhabiting Voices: Grace Paley Writing Difference,” Ivy Schweitzer, Dartmouth Coll.
3. “Angry Arts: Grace Paley, the War Resisters League, and the Rebirth of Activist Art in the City of New York,” John Bell, Massachusetts Inst. of Tech.
4. “The Morality of Orality,” Ruth Perry, Massachusetts Inst. of Tech.