American Poetry
A Symposium Sponsored by the American Literature Association
and
The Society for the Study of American Poetry
March 26-28, 2026
Hawthorne Hotel in Salem
18 Washington Square West,
Salem, MA 01970
Conference Director:
Alfred Bendixen, Princeton University
Keynote Speaker:
Evie Shockley, Rutgers University
The recently formed Society for the Study of American Poetry will present its second conference in collaboration with the American Literature Association in the beautiful Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Massachusetts. Single and double rooms will be available for $189 a night plus taxes. The hotel currently offers free parking. The conference fee of $250 includes 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches and several receptions.
We welcome proposals for individual papers, complete panels, and roundtable discussions on any aspect of American poetry and poetics. Proposals may focus on individual poets and their works, or on any of the movements, schools, genres, or traditions that constitute the varied and diverse history of poetry in the United States.
Please send all proposals to the conference director at
ab23@princeton.edu
as soon as possible and no later than October 1, 2025.
Conference Details: Sessions run Friday and Saturday, March 27-28, 2025. There will be an opening event and welcoming reception on Thursday evening, March 27, two full days of session on Friday and Saturday and a closing reception. The Conference Fee provides two breakfasts, two lunches, and the receptions for all registered participants, including those not staying at the hotel.
Individuals may propose papers or panels by emailing the conference director, Professor Alfred Bendixen (ab23@princeton.edu) no later than October 1, 2025 and preferably earlier. The proposal should include the title of the presentation or panel, an abstract that provides a clear idea of the material that will be covered, a brief vita or description of the presenter’s qualifications and email addresses for all participants. The proposal should be both pasted into an email and sent as an attachment (preferably in WORD). All emails will be acknowledged in a timely manner. Limited audio-visual support will be available. If your paper requires a/v, please make sure to indicate that in your proposal.
The conference director welcomes proposals for roundtables and panels that deal with specific authors and/or the development of important genres, literary movements, themes, and issues related to the symposium topic.
Those proposing papers and/or panels will be informed of acceptance by October 15. Participants will be asked to make their hotel reservations immediately and to pre-register on-line. A program will be placed on the ALA website prior to our meeting, and printed programs will be available at the symposium.
ALA Guidelines: The most common ALA format is a time slot of one hour and twenty minutes with three or four papers and a chair. Organizers of panels are free to use other formats provided they respect the time limits. Furthermore, the ALA encourages panel organizers to experiment with innovative formats including discussion groups and roundtables featuring more speakers and briefer papers. Chairs will make sure that the panels start and end on time and that no speaker goes beyond the allotted time limit. We prefer that chairs not present papers on the panels that they are moderating, and no one may present more than one formal paper at an ALA symposium.
The conference fee covers the costs of the conference. We require all of those who are on the program to pre-register. The conference fee is $250 for all participants. We regret that we are unable to offer a lower rate for graduate students and independent scholars.
ALA Membership: Membership in the ALA is not required in order to propose or present a paper. In fact, technically the members of the American Literature Association are the various author societies. Individuals may keep informed about the activities of the ALA, including its symposia and conferences, by checking our website (www.americanliteratureassociation.org).
Please note that the American Literature Association maintains the lowest conference fees of any major scholarly organization because it operates without a paid staff. If you have any questions that are not answered by this announcement, please contact the conference director, Alfred Bendixen, Executive Director of the ALA, at ab23@princeton.edu
Thank you for your support of the American Literature Association.