Call for Papers The Sixth International Conference on the State of Mark Twain Studies Elmira, New York August 6 - 8, 2009 As we approach the 100th anniversary of Mark Twain's death, we invite papers related to any aspect of Mark Twain's legacy. We have a special interest in papers on the following topics: Mark Twain and Money Mark Twain and Contemporary Authors Mark Twain and Politics: Then and Now Mark Twain and Friends -or- Enemies Mark Twain and other 19th and 20th-century Authors Mark Twain and the Problems of Influence Mark Twain and Law Mark Twain as Cultural Icon: Use and Abuse Mark Twain and Modernism Mark Twain, Realism, and Alternate Realities Mark Twain and the Americas Mark Twain and the Child Mark Twain and the Art of Irreverence Mark Twain and Modern Asian Cultures Mark Twain, Clothes, and Costumes Mark Twain and Gendered Identities Mark Twain and Regional Identity Mark Twain and Europe Mark Twain and Africa Mark Twain and Talk Mark Twain and Skin Mark Twain and Spirituality Mark Twain and the Business of Writing Mark Twain and the Image Mark Twain and Technology Mark Twain and the State of New York Mark Twain and Science Mark Twain and the Politics of Race Mark Twain and the Grave Please provide a developed abstract of 700 words. Developed abstracts will be due Monday, February 2nd, 2009. Final papers must be suitable for a twenty-minute presentation. Please send your attached abstract, via electronic submission, to [log in to unmask] Provide your name, mailing address, and email address. Papers will be reviewed anonymously by panel chairs. Papers submitted to this Conference may be reviewed for publication by the Center for Mark Twain Studies or in the 2010 Mark Twain Annual. Complete conference information is available on the web. Google Elmira 2009. CO-CHAIRS Bruce Michelson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Michael J. Kiskis, Elmira College PLANNING COMMITTEE Lawrence I. Berkove, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Emeritus Joseph Csicsila, Eastern Michigan University Kerry Driscoll, Saint Joseph College Ann Ryan, Le Moyne College Mark Woodhouse, Elmira College Barbara Snedecor, Elmira College PANEL CHAIRS James E. Caron, University of Hawai'i Shelley Fisher Fishkin, Stanford University Alan Gribben, Auburn University at Montgomery Susan Harris, University of Kansas Lawrence Howe, Roosevelt University Holger Kersten, Universität Magdeburg Judith Yaross Lee, Ohio University James Leonard, The Citadel Sharon McCoy, University of Georgia Jeffrey Melton, Auburn University at Montgomery Linda Morris, University of California-Davis, Emeritus Tom Quirk, University of Missouri-Columbia Laura Skandera Trombley, Pitzer College EDITING SESSION Robert H. Hirst, University of California, Berkeley DISCUSSION GROUP LEADERS Cameron Nickels, James Madison University, Emeritus David E.E. Sloane, University of New Haven Jeffrey Steinbrink, Franklin and Marshall College Henry Wonham, University of Oregon CLOSING ROUNDTABLE Louis J. Budd, Duke University, Emeritus Alan Gribben, Auburn University at Montgomery Robert H. Hirst, University of California, Berkeley Tom Quirk, University of Missouri-Columbia Ann Ryan, Le Moyne College Gary Scharnhorst, University of New Mexico KEYNOTE SPEAKER Russell Banks A prolific writer of fiction, Russell Banks' titles include The Darling, The Sweet Hereafter, Cloudsplitter, Rule of the Bone, Affliction, Success Stories, Continental Drift, Searching for Survivors, Trailerpark, The Book of Jamaica, The New World, and Hamilton Stark. The Angel on the Roof is a collection of thirty years of Banks' short fiction. His meditation on American history, entitled Amérique: Notre Histoire (translated by Pierre Furlan) was recently published in France. Banks has contributed poems, stories, and essays to The Boston Globe Magazine, Vanity Fair, The New York Times Book Review, Esquire, Harper's and numerous others. His most recent novel, The Reserve, is set in the Adirondacks in 1936-37, at the height of the Great Depression.