Notes from the Executive Director

NOTES FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Convention ?7 The 1987 convention in Spokane, hosted by Eastern Washington University, will be a special meeting. United Airlines has been designated the host airline and will offer special discounts which may be obtained by calling 1-800-824-6663 for your reservations; be sure to mention RMMLA. Rates at the Ridpath are $45 for a single room and $51 in the Motor Inn. Costs for food functions have also been held to a minimum. This year's convention has several unique program features. Eastern Washington will host a wine and appetizer reception with music by the Spokane String Quartet just before the Poetry reading on Thursday. Members will have time for a relaxing meal following the reading. Care has gone into creating cohesion in the sessions. In addition to the regular meetings, a plenary session Friday evening will address strands of contemporary criticism to elucidate the directions in which it tends. In a banquet talk, intriguingly titled "Shoplifting in the Linguistic Marketplace," Mary Louise Pratt of Stanford University will provide an overview to offer further perspective. Several special sections have also been scheduled: a breakfast hosted by the Writing Programs Administrators and a section, Writing Programs: Planning and Administration; a Women's Caucus Luncheon with a panel on Writing and Publishing in Journals: Editors' Perspectives; a Women's Caucus section on Hiring Trends and Policies into the Twenty-first Century; sessions on Drama, Feminist Perspectives on Renaissance Drama, Game and Play Strategies in French Literature before 1800; and two new permanent sections — Contemporary Film Criticism and Theory and Société des Professeurs Français et Francophones en Amérique. The richness of the program, as well as airline discounts, may encourage members to stay Saturday evening. Our hosts at Eastern Washington have arranged three excursions for those who do. If you have never visited Spokane, you will be charmed by its open western flavor and civilized amenities. Our hosts, Grant Smith and Susan McGinty of Eastern Washington, are doing all they can to provide an interesting and well-run meeting. We hope to see you in Spokane. RMMLA-Huntington Award Professor Eugene R. Cunnar of New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, has been awarded the 1987 RMMLA-Huntington Award to do research at the Huntington Library. The award carries a stipend of $1,500. Professor Cunnar proposed to complete a study which he has begun to examine the complex relationship between baroque art and liturgy and the poetry of Richard Crashaw. 131 An RM MLA committee chaired by Professor David Leon Higdon, President ofRM MLA, reviewed the proposals submitted and recommended the award to Professor Cunnar. David H. Jackson of Centenary College and Ernest W. Sullivan of Texas Tech served as committee members. RMMLA-Huntington Applications All members of the RMMLA are eligible to apply for the RMMLAHuntington Award for 1988, and we especially encourage younger scholars. While the deadline for the 1988 application is not until January 1, 1988, it is not too early to plan the time to work at the Huntington and then to prepare the application. Criteria for selection include value of the project, appropriateness ofthe research to material available at the Huntington, promise and experience of the researcher, and proposed use or distribution of the results. To apply, candidates should send five copies ofa vita indicating prior research for publication; a description ofthe project to include an indication ofany work done and an estimated date ofcompletion; and a letter ofapplication describing what Huntington materials would be used, the approximate dates of residence at the Huntington, and a statement agreeing that all funds received will be used for the purpose of research and that, should the candidate be unable to accept the award, the RMMLA would be notified immediately. Notes 1.At the April 4 meeting, the RMMLA Board decided that section chairs could accept 300 word abstracts with complete papers being due August 1 5. 2.Section chairs are asked this year to supply the RMMLA with the names of program people who attend the convention. The association wishes to discourage papers read in absentia. Members who have papers accepted are expected to attend and present them. 3.Members...