&Now 2019 Conference

The aim of this panel is to discuss the many ways writers of color approach common literary traditions, genres, and tropes, as well as the idea of a standard(izing) notion of language itself. We plan to highlight the various strategies and rationales authors of color use to break from “standard English,” and also debate if there should be—or even needs to be—better recognition and a reclassification of literary forms that use multilingual and/or varied syntax and grammar. Robert Duncan once said, “I don’t seek a synthesis, but a melee.” And yet, this panel will be both synthesis and melee, an example of both convergence and divergence, as its participants will discuss their experiences blending literary, genre fiction, and poetry with creative or critical prose as a means by which to speak to, about, and from certain personal/political identities and viewpoints.