The focus of this year’s convention is representation, migration, environment and identity. Poetry is a perfect medium to explore all of the key issues planned for the 53rd Annual NeMLA Convention in the Marriott Baltimore Waterfront Hotel, March 10-13, 2022. Many scholars who research and write papers for conferences also write poetry. Perhaps those poems are jotted on note pads, in the margins of your papers or in dedicated personal journals. This session is seeking those scholars whose poetry often remains unpublished due to the heavier responsibility of publishing scholarly journal articles, monographs and genre-specific books which demand much time in between teaching, and perhaps, administrating at the university. Even though those scholarly efforts may yield more rewards, such as job retention and hopefully, job promotions; personal poetry, intermittently created, yields a satisfying venue for emotional issues and satisfying creativity.
The 2022 Revisiting Closet Poets Creative session is an opportunity to expand and share your poetry by perhaps featuring the key issues of this years’ convention. Remember the words of Poet Laureate, Robert Pinsky, who shared his joy of telling poems during a previous NeMLA conference, “Poetry is the breath of humankind, and must be heard.”
Please keep in mind that in consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Executive Director and the NeMLA Board are considering options for remote online sessions and/or hybrid sessions [possibly both in the Marriott and through some form of remote online participation].