Poe Studies Association Updates

From Philip Edward Phillips, PSA President

The Poe Studies Association held its annual business meeting and sponsored two sessions—“Teaching Poe’s Poetry” (chaired by Travis Montgomery) and “Lyrical Eruptions in Poe’s Prose” (chaired by William E. Engel)—at the Twenty-Fifth Annual American Literature Association Conference at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, May 22–25, 2014.

In an ongoing effort to bring the Quinn and Gargano Awards up to date, the PSA Executive Committee appointed a nominating committee comprising PSA members Jana Argersinger and Les Harrison to present nominations for the Patrick Quinn Literary Award for a distinguished scholarly Poe book in 2013 and the James Gargano Award for the best scholarly essay on Poe in 2013 to the PSA Executive Committee for a vote. The selection process is currently underway, and the results will be announced as early as the 2015 MLA Convention in Vancouver.

The PSA awards honorary membership to scholars whose contributions to Poe research are significant and active and who show exemplary commitment to the goals of the association. Some of the past recipients include J. Lasley Dameron, Michael Deas, Benjamin Franklin Fisher IV, J. Gerald Kennedy, Richard Kopley, Kent Ljungquist, John Reilly, Jeffrey Savoye, G. R. Thompson, Susan Tane, Stephan Loewentheil, and Richard Wilbur. There will be a call for nominations at the 2015 International Poe Conference, so please serious give thought to those you think should be considered for this high honor.

To offset the rising costs associated with the publication and distribution of the Edgar Allan Poe Review, the PSA Executive Committee voted to increase dues from $20 to $30 effective immediately. This rate applies to both domestic and international memberships.

The Poe Studies Association is in the process of updating the PSA website to include past presidents, honorary members, Quinn and Gargano Award winners, and other information. Please visit the official PSA website at http://www2.lv.psu.edu/PSA/ for the latest information about the association and its activities.

This fall, I will have the honor as PSA president to join PSA vice president Paul Lewis (chair, Poe Foundation of Boston) in Boston to participate in the unveiling and dedication of Stefanie Rocknak’s bronze statue “Poe Returning to Boston,” in Edgar Allan Poe Square (the intersection of Boylston Street and Charles Street South) on October 5, 2014. Poe’s recognition in the city of his birth is much deserved and long overdue. For more details, visit the Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston website at http://www.bostonpoe.org/.

The Fourth International Edgar Allan Poe Conference, co-chaired by Barbara Cantalupo and Richard Kopley, will be held in New York City from February 26 to March 1, 2015, at the Roosevelt Hotel. For more details about the conference, including registration information, please visit the website at http://www2.lv.psu.edu/psa/Conference2015/. It is not too late for you or your institution to support the conference, so please consider making a donation at any level. I look forward to seeing you in New York City!

From Carole Shaffer-Koros, PSA Treasurer

As of August 18, 2014, the Poe Studies Association has 220 members. The current balance in the PSA account is as follows: $28,758.96 in checking, $5,018.83 and $1,065.17 in CDs for a total of $34,842.96; the final amount reflects a check for $5,000.00 given to the Roosevelt Hotel as the final deposit for the Fourth International Edgar Allan Poe Conference. The total balance includes the generous donation by Susan Tane for the Tane Travel Fund.

From Amy Branam-Armiento, PSA Secretary

In May 2014, the Poe Studies Association Executive Committee and members met at the American Literature Association. We discussed some exciting future additions to the PSA website, including a page that features our conferences, a list of honorary members, and a record of our James Gargano and Arthur Hobson Quinn Award winners. We want to express our gratitude to Jana Argersinger and Les Harrison for agreeing to serve on the nominating committee for the 2013 Gargano and Quinn Awards. The Executive Committee is in the...