CFP Critical Essays on Arthur Machen (9/1/2018)

Collection on Arthur MACHEN [EXTENSION OF DEADLINE]
https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2018/06/07/collection-on-arthur-machen-extension-of-deadline

deadline for submissions: September 1, 2018

full name / name of organization: Dr. Antonio Sanna

contact email: isonisanna@hotmail.com



Critical Essays on Arthur Machen

edited by Antonio Sanna


In spite of his prolific production of novels, short stories and essays, Arthur Machen (1863-1947) is one of those Victorian and twentieth-century writers whose works have been unjustly forgotten by contemporary readers and scholars. Machen was an ardent believer in mysticism and the occult, an admirer of the medieval world and a pioneer in psychogeography. His literary works have influenced celebrated writers such as H.P. Lovecraft, Charles Williams and Jorge Luis Borges and they are still pleasurable and valuable sources of entertainment. However, nowadays he is mainly remembered for his 1894 novella“The Great God Pan”, whereas his equally-successful volumes The Three Impostors (1895), The Hill of Dreams (1907), The Terror (1917), The Secret Glory (1922) and The Green Round (1933) as well as his short stories (“The Inmost Light”, “The White People”, “The Bowmen” and “N”, to mention merely a few) are rarely mentioned in studies on the English literature of the late-Victorian period and the first half of the twentieth century.

This anthology will explore Machen’s heterogeneous oeuvre from multidisciplinary perspectives. This volume seeks previously-unpublished essays that explore the English writer’s production. I am particularly interested in interdisciplinary approaches to the subject that can illuminate the diverse facets of the writer’s work. There are several themes worth exploring when analyzing Machen’soeuvre, utilizing any number of theoretical frameworks of your choosing. I request the chapters 1) to be based on formal, academic analysis and 2) to be focused mainly on the writer’s works (though comparisons with other authors’ works are more than welcome).

Contributions may include (but are not limited to) the following topics:

• Machen’s autobiographies
• The supernatural
• The seen and the unseen
• Representations of madness
• Representations of childhood, parenting and ageing
• Machenand fairy tales
• Gender and queer readings
• Machenand philosophy
• Exploration of dreams and the subconscious
• Fear of the Other
• The problem of evil
• Biblical interpretations
• Cultural studies and popular culture
• Class consciousness
• Science, science fiction and mystery
• Machen and the occult
• Machen and psychogeography
• Machen’s legacy

The anthology will be organized into thematic sections around these topics and others that emerge from submissions. I am open to works that focus on other topics as well and authors interested in pursuing other related lines of inquiry. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about the project and please share this announcement with colleagues whose work aligns with the focus of this volume.

Please submit a 300-500 word abstract of your proposed chapter contribution, a brief CV and complete contact information to Dr. Antonio Sanna (isonisanna@hotmail.com) by the 1st of September, 2018. Full chapters of 4000-6000 words would be due upon signing a contract with a publisher. Note: all full chapters submitted will be included subject to review.