Call for Papers    

Frank Yerby

Deadline: June 1, 2005

Editors seek critical essays on the literary life and legacy of Augusta-born Frank Yerby, one of the greatest unknown writers in American literary history. A reputable university press has expressed
interest in the collection, with an eye toward offering an advance contract.

The unprecedented collection aims to capitalize on the increasing scholarly "buzz" around the African American writer. The analytic goals are threefold: (1) to locate Yerby as a Southern African American writer as well as explore the larger national and international perspectives on Yerby; (2) to address the specific history of critical responses to Yerby's work and to his practice of Southern historical romance; and (3) to concentrate on issues of methodology, as they pertain to the recent
emergence and intersection of several fields of critical inquiry in literary and cultural studies. Essay topics should include but are not limited to southern historical romance, southern literary history,
African American literary history, African American popular fiction, Yerby's three "black" novels, diaspora, Yerby's expatriation (New) World literature, "whiteness," gender/sexuality, and proletarianism. The collection intends to prioritize essays that employ and/or extend these new analytics to the study of Yerby's fiction, while using Yerby's texts as case studies. In the end, the book hopes not only to introduce Yerby to a new generation of readers, but also become the central point of reference for future scholars of Yerby, and an invaluable resource for scholars in a range of academic fields.

By June 1, 2005, please send 250-word abstracts and cv (preferably through e-mail) to: 

Gene Jarrett (gjarrett@umd.edu)
Department of English
Susquehanna Hall
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742

or

John Charles (charl1j@cmich.edu)
Department of English
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI 48859