Tuesday, June 19, 2012

NEW ISSUES POETRY & PROSE ANNUAL CELEBRATION!

8/26 : 2-5



SAVE THE DATE: August 26th (last Sunday in August) from 2 to 5 pm at Bell's Eccentric Cafe.

Come join us for local poetry, local brews, local music, and the chance to bid/win items donated in support of New Issues Poetry & Prose at our annual celebratory fundraiser. 

Local poetry read by New Issues and Michigan-based poets, Bell's famous local brews will be available for purchase throughout the event, and local music provided by Whiskey Before Breakfast. 

Silent auction will include fine art, jewelry, and more. 

Open to the public. Suggested donation of $10 for adults and $5 for students.

For more information call, email, or visit our website: (269) 387-8185, new-issues@wmich.edu or www.wmich.edu/newissues/

Bell’s Eccentric Café: 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave. 
Kalamazoo, MI 49007


Saturday, June 16, 2012

CFP: O-Zone: A Journal of Object-Oriented Studies




CFP: Forthcoming
Issue 1: Object/Ecology

O-Zone: A Journal of Object-Oriented Studies

Autumn 2012


Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in ecology in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences, with exciting new conceptual innovations and critically reflective returns to the work of earlier ecological studies. If ecological thought, in its most broad definition, investigates the interrelations and interactions of entities with one another, then the concept and domain of ecology can be expanded significantly, referring not simply to the natural world apart from social structures and configurations, but rather to relations between entities of any kind, regardless of whether they are natural, technological, social, or discursive. In short, culture and society are no longer thought of as something distinct from nature, but as one formation of nature among others. Increasingly, a sensibility has emerged that views as impossible the treatment of society and nature as distinct and separate domains, and instead sees the two as deeply enmeshed with one another. Similarly, ecological and posthumanist developments have increasingly come to intersect with one another, jointly conceptualizing humans not as sovereign makers of all other tools, beings and meanings, but as beings (or objects) among other beings (and objects)—animate and inanimate, human and nonhuman—entwined together in a variety of complex contingencies.

The inaugural issue of O-Zone: A Journal of Object-Oriented Studies seeks to expand current ecological dialogues and open new trajectories for ecological engagement vis-à-vis the world of objects, or even world(s)-as-object(s). Authors are invited to contribute SHORT meditations, thought experiments, riffs, ruminations, rants, broadsides, etc. — of approximately 2,000 to 3,000 words — on any object-oriented ecological turn or (re)turn percolating through their current work, OR, on any aspect of the relationship (or non- or frictional relationship) between the two terms. Artworks are also encouraged. Authors might consider the following questions when composing their contributions:

How do the post-correlationist, post-Kantian, realist, and materialist turns transform our understanding of the systems, operations, objects, and/or ontology of ecology?

What is an ecological politics, and what might certain political considerations bring to object-oriented and new materialist trends of ecological thinking? Conversely, how might an intensive focus on the singularity and autonomy of objects revise our conceptions of political domains?

Object-oriented theorists have proposed a number of new critical modes to expand ecological inquiry, like dark and black ecology. In what ways do these new approaches challenge the traditionally “green” orientations of ecological investigation? Further, what other new modes of ecological thought might we propose now, beyond green?

Ecology has traditionally been defined as the study of systems of inter-dependent relations, often with respect to natural environments. How might certain strains of object-oriented thought that take as a given the withdrawn nature and independent reality of objects give rise to new ecological thinking? Further, what would it mean to think the non- or para-“natural world” ecologically, such as new media, machinic and other technologies, artificial life, bioinformatics, cloning, and the like?

What is the relationship between posthumanism and ecology? Can there be a post-ecology, and how might that relate to the “life” of objects?

What might be some of the productive tensions, inter-relations, attractions, oppositions, alliances, dialectics, etc. between the two terms, “object” and “ecology”?
What would it mean to retrieve earlier ecological and materialist voices, especially from feminist, gender, and queer studies, and what might these voices contribute to object-oriented and new materialist modes of thought?

These questions are only suggestions for possible meditations. Authors are also invited to develop their own topics.

Confirmed contributors to the inaugural issue include: Stacy Alaimo, Jeff Bell, Ian Bogost, Pearl Brilmyer, Andy Clark, Jon Cogburn, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, Steven Connor, Drew Daniel, Freek de Haan, Rick Dolphin, Lowell Duckert, Sarah Franklin, Bishnupriya Ghosh, Myra J. Hird + Nigel Clark, Joe Hughes, Tim Ingold, Adrian Ivakhiv, Robert Jackson, Ed Keller, Shannon Mattern, Freya Matthews, Dan Mellamphy, Steve Mentz, Timothy Morton, Vin Nardizzi, Michael O’Rourke + Christina McPhee, Henk Oosterling, Jussi Parikka, Aaron Pdnotti, Marina Peterson, Dominic Pettman, John Protevi, Alex Reid, Kate Rigby, Adam Roberts, Kim Stanley Robinson, Cate Sandilands, Crispin Sartwell, Steven Shaviro, Tom Sparrow, Florian Sprenger, Lindsay Thomas, Jeremy Trombley, Yoni van den Eede, Sarah Whatmore, Margaret Inga Wiatrowski, Cary Wolfe, and Joanna Zylinska.

For its inaugural issue, O-Zone: A Journal of Object-Oriented Studies will also consider submissions on topics unrelated to ecology, but still within the orbit of object-oriented studies. These contributions might take the form of short essays, longer articles (of no more than 10,000 words), or digital media. In addition, we are accepting reviews of recently published works on object-oriented and new materialism subjects. Queries about the relevance of a given topic or potential review are welcome.

Deadline for submissions is August 1 – September 15, 2012. We will accept submissions at any time from May through September 15th, but the dates above sketch out the absolute last period of review for the inaugural issue. Please send all submissions and queries to editors.ozone@gmail.com.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

CFP: special issue of About Gender on Queer Studies




Call for Articles: special Issue on “Queer Studies and the Interpretation of Reality”

Editor: Dr. Luca Trappolin

Starting from the beginning of the Nineties, and primarily in English speaking contexts, the investigation of issues related to gender, sexuality and identity politics has been strongly affected by Queer Theory. Queer Theory can be interpreted as an heterogeneous body of literature which – although to different extents in different times and places – has critically challenged ideas and interpretations of the subject, power and justice which emerged in Sociology, as well as in other disciplines within Lesbian and Gay Studies and Gender Studies. At the same time, the contribution of Queer Theory to the interpretation of reality has been widely questioned by scholars working in the fields of Gender Studies and Lesbian and Gay Studies. The aim of this special issue is to engage with the development of Queer Theory and Queer Studies from its birth to present days, its relationship with interpretation of gender and sexuality coming from Gender Studies and Lesbian and Gay Studies, and the articulation of its epistemology in research practices.

We welcome articles – both theoretical and empirical – coming from a variety of disciplines such as Social Sciences, Humanities, Philosophy, and Law. Articles can be submitted in Italian or English, and are invited to address the following topics:

1) Changes and developments in Queer Theory and Queer Studies after 20 years of debate.
Examples of topics that could be developed are the following:
* a comparison between the first and the new generation of scholars working in the field of Queer Studies;
* the institutionalisation of Queer Theory and its effects;
* the current role of Queer Studies for the development of disciplines in Social Sciences, Humanities, Philosophy, Law: is the Queer perspective still challenging institutional knowledge?

2) Theoretical implication of Queer Theory in Gender Studies and Lesbian and Gay Studies.
In this case, articles should address the ways in which the Queer perspective has challenged (or should challenge) ideas of identity, community and the world coming from the scientific debate on gender and homosexuality in Gender Studies and Lesbian and Gay Studies.

3) The adoption of a Queer perspective in researches on gender, homosexuality, masculinity.
In this case, empirical articles are welcomed as examples of research that has investigated topics of gender, homosexuality, and masculinity taking into consideration the epistemology of Queer Theory.

4) The reception of Queer Theory in national contexts.
Articles could address topics such as the translation of scholars working in the field of Queer Studies into national contexts, or the “evidence” of the integration of a Queer perspective within national Gender Studies and Lesbian and Gay Studies.

Articles can be submitted at the latest by 15 September 2012.

For articles submission you need to be registered

LINK: http://www.aboutgender.unige.it/ojs/index.php/generis/pages/view/CFA3eng

ISSN: 2279-5057

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Dan Mancilla wins 2012 Flash Fiction Award.

Congratulations to our 2012 Award Winners! Many thanks to all our entrants and of course to our judges! Winning pieces will be published in Issue 29, due out this fall. The contest will re-open December 15, 2012. Check back with us then to find out who our 2013 judges will be! 2012 Flash Award: Dan Mancilla, “Trajectory” Judged by Jim Shepard Dan Mancilla lives Kalamazoo, Michigan where he’s working on his PhD in Creative Writing at Western Michigan University. Dan’s fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in such publications as: River Styx, Slice, Barrelhouse, The Malahat Review, The Dos Passos Review, and The Chicago Tribune’s Printers Row. “Trajectory” is an excerpt from his manuscript The Deathmask of El Gaucho.

Kristian O'Hare, WMU Ph.D. graduate, stages his production in Ferndale !

The Ringwald Theatre is proud to announce the 3rd installment of its wildly popular Gay Play Series (GPS). Last year’s outing was attended by hundreds of people over a ten day festival period. This year the program will run over two consecutive weekends that will feature a one-time only event, music shows and, at the centerpiece, performances of 11 new, one act LGBT plays. GPS will run June 15th-June 25th, 2012 at The Ringwald Theatre in beautiful downtown Ferndale. The 2012 GPS will kick off on Friday, June 15 at 8:00 PM with a special one-night only performance of Ronnie Larsen’s classic play, Making Porn. The rollicking, side-splittingly funny comedy roared onto the scene in 1995 and took off-Broadway by storm and has starred such renowned gay porn stars Matthew Rush, Blake Harper, Chris Steele, and many others. Shortly after its New York production it’s played around the world (including stints in Boston, Atlanta, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and San Diego starring Ringwald artistic director Joe Bailey). The Ringwald production will feature Bailey, Michael Lopetrone (Southern Baptist Sissies), Lisa Melinn, Richard Payton, Joe Plambeck, and Jamie Richards. Please Note: Making Porn contains nudity and adult situations. The original One Act Festival will commence on Saturday, June 16 at 8pm with Block A and continue on Sunday, June 17 at 3pm with Block B. Block A will feature: · Defrost by Tony Foster; Directed by PJ Jacokes · Queer/Trek by Brian Walker; Directed by Gary Lehman · Turnaround by Joe Bailey; Directed by Jamie Richards · Mate Trade by Laura Witkowski & Cara Trautman; Directed by Topher Payne · Fanny Packs & Hanky Codes by Kristian O’Hare; Directed Matthew Turner Shelton · Homochondria by Brad Baron; Directed by Michelle Leroy Block B features: · Ask Me! Tell Me! by Andrew Charles Lark; Directed by Nancy Arnfield · Pocket Universe by Duncan Pflaster; Directed by Lisa Melinn · Ten Picnics by Mark Harvey Levine; Directed by Joe Plambeck · A Streetcar Named Viagra by Daniel Curzon; Directed by Sean McClellan · Break Your Face on My Hand by Daniel Talbott; Directed by Joe Bailey Block A will perform subsequently Friday, June 22 at 8PM and Sunday, June 24 at 2PM. Block B will perform subsequently Saturday, June 23 at 8PM and Sunday, June 24 at 5PM. As always, audience members will be voting for their favorite script. The winning script will receive an additional performance at the closing ceremonies on Monday, June 25 at 8PM and will subsequently receive a full production at The Ringwald Theatre. Audience members will also be asked to vote for a favorite actor and director. On Monday, June 18, Vince Kelley will recreate Judy Garland’s Carnegie Hall Concert at 8:00PM. Judy’s concert appearance, on the night of April 23, 1961, has been called "the greatest night in show business history.” Garland's live performances were big successes at the time and her record company wanted to capture that energy onto a recording. The double album became a hit, both critically and commercially. Powerhouse vocalist Vince Kelley will lend his considerable talents to recreating the immensely popular Carnegie Hall concert in what is sure to be an electrifying, unforgettable evening! GPS will come to a close on Monday, June 25. In addition to the encore presentation of the winning script, the audience favorite Motor City MisCast Cabaret returns with men singing songs traditionally sung by women and vice versa. This year’s theme is MisCast Goes to the Movies and we’ll have a fun bunch of folks on hand for what is always a thoroughly entertaining evening! Buy your passes and tickets below! Festival Passes: Full Festival Pass (includes all events): $40.00 - Buy Pass Partial Festival Pass (includes all events but Making Porn): $25.00 - Buy Pass Friday, June 15, 2012 at 8pm Opening Night Ceremonies - Making Porn $20.00 - Buy Tickets Saturday, June 16, 2012 at 8pm Friday, June 22, 2012 at 8pm Sunday, June 24, 2012 at 2pm Block A of the One Act Festival $10.00 for each day - Buy Tickets Sunday, June 17, 2012 at 3pm Saturday, June 23, 2012 at 8pm Sunday, June 24, 2012 at 5pm Block B of the One Act Festival $10.00 for each day - Buy Tickets Monday, June 18, 2012 at 8pm Vince Kelley Does Judy at Carnegie Hall $10.00 - Buy Tickets Monday, June 25, 2012 at 8pm Closing Ceremonies, Encore of Winning Production, Motown MisCast Cabaret $10.00 - Buy Tickets Attachment Posted on Mon, June 4, 2012 by Joe Plambeck filed under * Theatre near Detroit, * Theatre in Ferndale, * Ferndale MI, * Gay Play Series, * GPS, * Play Festival, * One-act Play Festival, 22742 Woodward Ave. | Ferndale, MI 48220 | 248.545.5545

Monday, June 4, 2012

New Issue of Comparative Drama

Comparative Drama is pleased to announce the arrival of our Spring 2012 issue, volume 46.1, which includes the following contributions:

Essays
To Dazzle as Macbeth: Bisociated Drama in Philip Roth's The Humbling
James Duban

Lukács/Ibsen: Tragedy, Selfhood, and ‘Real Life’ in The Master Builder and When We Dead Awaken
William Storm

“I just die for some authority!: Barriers to Utopia in Howard Brenton’s Greenland
Siân Adiseshiah

“Where’s my Fool?” Lear Motifs in Rigoletto
Barbara Barry

Reviews
Women and Revenge in Shakespeare: Gender, Genre, and Ethics
by Marguerite A. Tassi
reviewed by Leslie Kordecki

Susan Glaspell: The Complete Plays

Linda Ben-Zvi and J. Ellen Gainor, eds.
reviewed by Cheryl Black

The Sarah Siddons Audio Files: Romanticism and the Lost Voice

by Judith Pascoe
reviewed by Amy Muse

Shakespeare and the Grammar of Forgiveness
by Sarah Beckwith
reviewed by Jan Frans van Dijkhuizen

Shakespeare’s Great Stage of Fools
by Robert H. Bell
reviewed by Robert Hornback

The Political Theatre of David Edgar: Negotiation and Retrieval
by Janelle Reinelt and Gerald Hewitt
reviewed by Yoo Kim

Manly Mechanicals on the Early Modern English Stage
by Ronda Arab
reviewed by Jennifer Low





Saturday, June 2, 2012

Tea & Mystery w/Beth Amidon



A Look at Classic Mysteries and Foreshadowing of Classics to Come Tea Party

Jun 6, 2012
Time: 12 noon
Location: Stuart Manor, Portage

Website: http://www.portagemi.gov/Departments/ParksRecreation/TeaatStuartManor.aspx
Phone: 269-329-4410

Join newly retired Western Michigan University English professor Beth Amidon to discuss a new look at classic mysteries from Bronte to Neffenager and beyond. You will have an opportunity to appreciate the mysterious qualities of our beloved classics and how these have been interwoven into modern classics-to-come mysteries.

This is a movie pairing event with the Portage District Library. Continue your tea experience by attending a special presentation of a classic movie that ties into the theme of the tea. Attend the movie Rebecca on Thursday, June 7 at 6:30 pm at the Library. This classic tale was written by Daphne Du Maurier; Directed by Alfred Hitchcock; Stars Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. 130 minutes. Movie and popcorn are free.

Cost: $22 adults; $15 youth ages 5-12