Symposium 1997 and Future Symposium Plans
Without Victoria Clements, the first symposium would have
been a different event. While I had had a pretty clear vision
in my mind for several years, I met Victoria at just the right
time: my dissertation was finished, others had expressed interest
in such a gathering (at NEMLA and at Trinity), and I knew there
were more Sedgwick scholars "out there" who would love
such an event but who didn't yet know each other except through
the printed page. Case in point: Susan Harris, whose work I admired
and whom I had met briefly and immediately imposed upon (to read
my chapter on ANET), introduced me at the Trinity conference
to Victoria, whose work I had read and envied from afar. Victoria
had just edited A New England Tale for Oxford UP (she did it
before she had finished her dissertation) and thus had the necessary
gumption that made her the ideal compatriot in the Sedgwick Symposium
project. Thus was our collaboration born. Victoria's steadfast
commitment, enthusiastic energy (even long-distance!), and reliable
leadership helped make this event even better than I had imagined.
The comments from participants were overwhelmingly positive.
Dana Nelson expressed her gratitude by writing a "public"
letter of appreciation for each of us, calling the event "path-breaking"
and lauding the structure of the program for "foster[ing]
the best possible spirit for such an event-it was participatory,
collaborative, intellectually exciting and just plain fun."
She sensed what we had been through-the e-mail, phone calls,
and Priority Mail deliveries, sometimes all in a single day.
Her comments, as well as those of many others, made us willing
to do it all again: "In planning and execution, this symposium
was professionally and graciously managed. I know such projects
are usually more burdensome than one ever expects, and often
under-recognized as contributions to the profession. I am positive
that I am not alone in my sense that this was not just an exciting
and intellectually satisfying conference: it was an IMPORTANT
event that will have an impact on future scholarship and scholars."
Thank you, Dana. Her remarks were, in fact, echoed by other participants,
who appreciated "the high quality of all the presentations
and the very cordial and mutually supportive atmosphere"
and especially "the time for discussion of the papers."
Overall, participants loved the setting of The Red Lion Inn (built
just before Sedgwick was born), as well as other unique features,
like the slide show of some of Sedgwick's literary sites (Lucinda)
and the Reader's Theatre performance of scenes from Hope Leslie
(Victoria) during the banquet. One participant suggested that
the Reader's Theatre be made its own panel.
Most of all, participants appreciated the intimacy of the conference,
and the fact that there were no concurrent sessions, which created
the opportunity for a sustained, high-quality conversation: "Great
discussion, give and take, warm and supportive atmosphere."
"DON'T change the fact that sessions happen one at a time"
stressed one participant, while another added, "I loved
that there were no concurrent sessions, forcing 'choices'."
But while all appreciated the opportunity to hear all the papers,
and many thought the panels were "scheduled perfectly,"
several said the timing was a bit "tight" and almost
everyone wished for more time to go to the library or to sightsee
around the Berkshires. We'll just have to make the event longer!
Several had suggestions, in addition to Deborah Gussman's wish
to make the pedagogy roundtable more central, including:
- Promote a focus on out of print works and give people the
opportunity to get copies in advance so we have a common text
- Circulate papers (or at least abstracts) among panelists
ahead of time so we don't repeat citations and points-more collaboration
- More historicization, more comparison to other writers
- More on texts other than Hope Leslie
- A book sale table
All in all, several said they had been "saturated with
Sedgwick and simply loved it!" and one claimed that the
conference had given her the "energy to go on and try to
figure out what the heck I'm going to do with the dissertation!"
We had hoped for a fall Symposium (to stay close to an alternate-year
cycle), but when I checked with The Red Lion Inn this May for
our proposed dates in mid to late October (to celebrate the great
fall colors in the Berkshires) I learned that the "Hitchcock
Room" (the one we need), as well as most of the bedrooms
had already been booked. So it looks like spring for the next
Symposium. We will discuss these issues of timing at our Sedgwick
Society meeting at the ALA this May. Watch your mail (both "snail"
and electronic) for further information.
Call for contributions to the Sedgwick Society Newsletter
If you have or would like to propose an article for the newsletter, please feel invited to contribute.
The article should be 8 pages or less, that is, under 2000 words (counting notes and works cited).
Please e-mail me with your ideas and queries: lucinda.damonbach@salemstate.edu
Thank you in advance!
|
