Dear Forum Members:

I am posting a call for submissions for this year's ALA in Boston.  The call
is also available on the website at http://americanhumor.org, though I think
the webmaster got the wrong date for the deadline.  This one is correct.

CALL FOR PAPERS:  AMERICAN HUMOR STUDIES ASSOCIATION (AHSA) AT THE AMERICAN
LITERATURE ASSOCIATION (ALA)
MAY 2007

LET'S GET PHYSICAL:  THE SIDE-SPLITTING ASPECTS OF PHYSICAL COMEDY
Sometimes actions really do speak louder than words, particularly when in
comes to physical comedy.  Whether it's the eye-poking mayhem of The Three
Stooges, the acrobatic antics of screwball comedian Cary Grant, or the
slip-sliding entrances of Seinfeld's Kramer, the body can often convey
immediate character clues that couldn't be accomplished in pages of
dialogue.  AHSA invites critical submissions that examine aspects of the
physical side of absurdity.  From stand-up comedians who stretch the bounds
of physicality to the slapstick pratfalls of the Keystone Kops, from screwy
Lucille Ball to Jim Carey's rubbery clowning, physical comedy can articulate
volumes without uttering a single sound.

Proposals (due January  25 ), print or electronic, 100-250 words) should
analyze some facet of humor that relies on physicality.  Please send
submissions to:  Roxanne Schwab ([log in to unmask]).

Best to all, and a happy new year!

Janice McIntire-Strasburg, Ph.D.
Saint Louis University