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Subject: Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion on Walker Percy

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  • From: "John Desmond" <desmond AT whitman.edu>
  • To: <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [percy-l] 2003 MLA Annual Convention and Walker Percy
  • Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 16:41:37 -0800

Friends:
The Walker Percy Society sponsors a Percy session at the ALA meeting
every year. This year the meeting is in Cambridge, MA, May 22-25. The
Percy session this year features Lewis A. Lawson, Edward Dupuy, and Farrell
O'Gorman.
Anyone interested in a Percy session at the 2004 SSSL meeting in Chapel
Hill, or participating in the ALA session in San Francisco in May, 2004, can
contact me.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Karey L. Perkins" <karey AT charter.net>
To: <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 2:16 PM
Subject: [percy-l] 2003 MLA Annual Convention and Walker Percy


> I've noticed that Walker Percy has been absent from the MLA for the past
few
> years; even two conventions ago, when the MLA was in New Orleans, Percy's
> home, there were no sessions (nor even any papers within sessions, as far
as
> I could tell) on Walker Percy, which I thought was unusual. Why his
> absence? Is no one interested in Percy so no one has proposed a session,
> or do convention organizers just not want to accept a session on him?
>
> I am considering proposing a session on Percy for this year's convention.
I
> had thought of the theme of "time and place" in his work -- which has a
vast
> array of possibilities, including both literal time and place and
> metaphysical time and place. In his novels "place" matters immensely, as
> was also true in his life it seems. (Actual geographical place, but also,
> finding one's place in the world. The original title of "the Last
> Gentleman" was "Ground Zero," referring, I think, to both a spiritual and
a
> physical "ground zero." What to do with "time" was another very important
> theme of his in both his novels and his life. Catholicism (in particular,
> Christiniaty in general), which was so important to him, is a religion of
> particular time and place -- not of abstracts. Another approach could be
> any of the social issues that he wrote about or that were reflected in his
> work that were affected by his time and place. I think that Percy is
> sufficiently narrow enough a topic that just a session entitled: "Walker
> Percy in the 21st Century" -- would be enough (which also relates to
time).
> What does Percy have to say to humankind in the 21st century -- anything?
> Is his message still relevant?
>
> Anyway, if you'd be interested, have something to say, and think the topic
> is a possible viability at this year's convention (it's in San Diego, Dec.
> 27-30), then send a one-page abstract by e-mail to me at karey AT charter.net
> by mid-March. The submission deadline for the session itself is April
1st,
> so I would need to have all paper proposals before that date. If I get
> three good papers, I'll submit the session.
>
> For more info on the convention, see www.mla.org
>
> Thanks!
>
> Karey
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> An archive of all list discussion is available at
http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy/hypermail
>
> Visit the Walker Percy Project at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy
>






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