&Now 2019 Conference

Autotheory (such as Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts) and intersectional form (Jen Soriano’s descriptor for work such as Lauret Savoy's Trace and Kazim Ali’s Bright Felon) have generated some buzz in the literary world. Both terms describe work that pushes the boundaries of conventional canons, through their expressions of multiple embodied subjectivities and for their innovations in structure and form. This panel will explore the craft and politics of autotheory and intersectional form, and give examples of the artistic and intellectual richness these forms allow.

The literary practice of hybridity—work that blurs categorical lines of artistic medium, academic discipline, or genre—is flourishing. Autotheory and intersectional form are important hybridity approaches that challenge conventional standards of authority. These forms allow for layered work that can shift theory, culture and even worldviews through the assemblage of historically marginalized perspectives. At AWP 2019, a talk that touched on these topics was met with excitement, and we believe there is substantial appetite for further conversation in this area.