Call for Proposals: Poetry Off the Page, Around the Globe – Conference 2025
The Poetry Off the Page, Around the Globe conference, set for June 13-14, 2025, warmly invites proposals for presentations of 15-20 minutes in English. While this is an academic conference, practitioners who wish to speak about their work in a critically informed and self-reflective manner are equally encouraged to submit proposals. The event will explore a wide range of topics related to spoken word poetry, with discussions focused on the intersections between performance, culture, and technology.
Areas of interest for presentations may include, but are not limited to, the relationship between spoken-word poetry and other art forms like visual arts, music, dance, theatre, and comedy; the multiple heritages of contemporary spoken word poetry; avant-garde poetic performances and their use of diverse media; the role of technology in poetry performance; and the evolution of digital media's influence on spoken word.
Other topics of interest include formats of oral poetry performance such as slam, open mic, poetry trails, one-person shows, and rap, as well as the communities and audiences that engage with poetry performance. Proposals that examine spoken word as a creative industry or explore the role of poetry in addressing issues of identity, race, gender, ability, and heritage are also highly encouraged. Further areas for discussion include spoken word pedagogy, research methods in poetry performance, and the role of poetry performance in cultural and literary theory.
Abstracts of no more than 250 words, along with a short bio (maximum 80 words), should be submitted by December 20, 2024, to popconf2025@univie.ac.at. The convenors aim to notify respondents to the first call by January 10, 2025, to accommodate international delegates who may require additional time for visa applications. A second call, with a deadline in early February, will be issued in November.
Convened by Shefali Banerji M.A., Dr. Rachel Bolle-Debessay, and Assoc. Prof. Julia Lajta-Novak, this conference will form the basis for a peer-reviewed special issue that will be published open access. While the event will be held in person, there will also be options for remote attendance, and attendance will be free of charge. A limited number of travel subsidies will be available for participants. The event will also feature an evening programme of performances by international and local spoken word poets, followed by an open mic session.
For more information about the conference, visit https://popconf2025.univie.ac.at. To learn more about the Poetry Off the Page project, including its data policy, project blog, and podcast, please visit www.poetryoffthepage.net.