The Editor's Fence

87 THE EDITOR'S FENCE 1. MLA Division Meetingst San Francisco, 1979« Despite unfavorable meeting times (9»00 p.m. and 8«30 a.m.), the two programs of the Division on Late 19th- and Early 20th-century English Literature went very well, the morning session being particularly well attended. The papers in both programs, we were told, were lively and challenging. 2. MLA Division Meetings» Houston, 1980« Again two programs are planned, tentatively and broadly as follows« (a) A Centenary Look at 1880. Enquiries and suggestions should be directed to Professor Stanley Weintraub, The Pennsylvania State University. (b) Foreign Influences on English Literature« 1880-1920. Enquiries and suggestions should be directed to Professor Albert Guerard, Stanford University. 3· Division Executive Committee. 1980» Albert Guerard (Stanford) will be chairperson! Stanley Weintraub (Pennsylvania State) will be secretary; and other members, in order of seniority, will be H. E. Gerber (Arizona State University), Charles Altieri (Ur^vArsitv of Washington), and Avrom Fleishman (Johns Hopkins). The candidates nominated for election to replace H. E. Gerber in 1981 will be announced in the MLA Division Newsletter. k. A Personal Note« Many friends, having noted my gradual withdrawal from participation in some MLA activities, have misinterpreted my motives. This is, in that unhappy phraseology, "to set the record straight." I am not retiring. I am not in ill health. My energies have not markedly declined. ELT will continue to be published and I shall continue to edit the journal. I shall continue to serve as General Editor of the ASB Series as long as it survives. I intend to make more time to devote to teaching, research, and writing . I look to the new year with renewed energy and enthusiasm because I will have more time to do the things I most enjoy doing. ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. VP Hardy Issue« Frank R. Giordano, Jr., serving as Special Editor of a double number of Victorian Poetry (XVII» 1 and 2 /SpringSummer 19727 has overseen a supero celebration of Hardy's poetic output fifty years after the poet's death. There are excellent articles by I. A. Richards, Trevor Johnson, Richard Benvenuto, Peter Simpson, Ian Ousby, Kathryn R. King and William W. Morgan, Frank Giordano, William E. Buckler, Harold Orel, and Keith Wilson - a goodly company, indeed. The double issue of VP is given special value by the inclusion of poems honoring Hardy, of Hardy's illustrations for Wessex Poems , and reproductions of Augustus John's portrait and William Strang's drawing. It is a handsome production, for which we congratulate Frank Giordano, the VP staff, and West Virginia University. ...