Dionne & Dufresne Presented at 2019 American Literature Association Conference

Our MFA poetry concentration student, Jessica Dionne, and MA literature concentration student, Kelsey Virginia Downs Dufresne presented their paper at the 30th Annual ALA Conference 2019 at Boston, Massachusetts. 

(Photo courtesy of Jessica Dionne)

(Photo courtesy of Kelsey Virginia Downs Dufresne)

The following topics were presented:
Jessica Dionne – “The Dean and the Father of the Black Magic Aesthetic: Langston Hughes and LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka)”
Kelsey Virginia Downs Dufresne – “Langston Hughes as Artist: Tracing the Literary Word in the Artistic Medium”

Dionne shared her experience below: 
“I had a wonderful experience at the ALA Conference in Boston. I presented on the Langston Hughes Society panel on Word, Image, Movements: Langston Hughes as Influence and Resonance. The title of my paper is “The Dean and the Father of the Black Magic Aesthetic: Langston Hughes and LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka),” and it considers Hughes and Baraka as contemporaries, rather than the divided figureheads of their respective literary movements as they are typically portrayed. In looking at issues of Negro Digest from the 1960s, as well as popular anthologies of the time, I found many instances where the two appear side-by-side, often in conversation with one another. I enjoyed the questions portion of the panel and was interested in the connections that audience members were able to draw between all three of the panel presentations. I was able to attend several other panels before I left, my favorites being, “Teaching William Carlos Williams Roundtable,” “Modernist Women Writers and American Social Engagement Roundtable,” and “Social Justice Pedagogy Roundtable.” My biggest issue was deciding which panels to attend, and I am very proud of my Boston public transit navigation skills. I want to sincerely thank the department and Dr. Miller for this opportunity.  It was an incredible experience.”

(Photos courtesy of Jessica Dionne)

In addition to presenting at the ALA Conference, Dufresne participated in the International Whitman Week. You can read about her experience at the ALA conference and IWW here!

Congratulations to both of our students on their achievements!