Folks;

Forgive me if this is the umpteenth time you have received the following
invitation.

However, given the new year, and in view of the fact that according to
Ken Burns religion, Joe Twichell, and so on played absolutely no part in
almost any aspect of Mark Twain's life and times, I send this out one
last time by way of reminder.

As many of you know, I am putting together a book of essays on MT &
religion.  Half the book will consist of recent important works;  half
will be newly-commissioned pieces by some of the readers of this LIST.

I am extending the deadline for proposals until Feb. 15, so I hope to
attract at least a few more folks to contribute.  See below for
details.  The list of potential contributors is shaping up quite
nicely;  but there is still room for a few more.

Best wishes for the new year, --Hal Bush

Call for Proposals:
Mark Twain & American Religion
Prof. Hal Bush, St. Louis University, <[log in to unmask]>
 I am a member of the American Literature and Religion Project, a
three-year study group sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts and
co-sponsored by the Erasmus Institute at the University of Notre Dame.
Roger Lundin (Wheaton College) serves as the director of the project.
This  project represents  an exciting opportunity, bringing together as
it does a group of American literature specialists who share an interest
in the influence of religion in American literature and criticism.
Besides featuring a number of younger scholars like me, the project
working group includes such nationally recognized authorities as
Lawrence Buell (Harvard), Michael Colacurcio (UCLA), Barbara Packer
(UCLA), Andrew Delbanco (Columbia), and Ralph Wood (Baylor).
 One aspect of the project will be the publication of a series of
volumes that will present the best current scholarship on the religious
dimensions of the works of major American authors.  The vision for the
series is to combine the best recently published scholarship with a
number of newly-commissioned essays for each volume.  Mark Twain is at
the top of the list for this series, and I have been selected to
organize and edit the Twain volume.
 Thus, I am interested in soliciting proposals for a book collection
that will present innovative and original approaches to the achievement
of Mark Twain from the perspective of his engagement with and interest
in various aspects of American religion of the Gilded Age.  The books in
this series will be published by a major press and will be supported by
subventions from the project’s budget.  Additionally, members of the
working group will contribute to these volumes.     For this work, I am
seeking to recruit some of the top names in Mark Twain scholarship at
the present time, so that this collection will represent the very best
work currently being done on the religious aspects of Mark Twain’s life
and literary achievement.
 All proposals, including a 1-2 pp. abstract and preferably a brief
works cited list, should be sent by Feb. 15, 2002 to:

 Prof. Harold K. Bush, Jr.
 Dept. of English
 Saint Louis University
 3800 Lindell Ave.
 St. Louis, MO  63108  or via e-mail:  [log in to unmask]