The South Central Modern Language Association

Anglo-Irish Literature Section: A First Decade Appreciation

By

Herbert V. Fackler

USL Department of English

Lafayette, Louisiana

The Anglo-Irish Literature section of the South Central Modern Language Association is, after ten years, the oldest section of its kind in any MLA regional organization, and one of the most distinguished sections in any region or organization. It has been imitated by at least two other MLA regionals, the New England and the South Atlantic regionals, and has an enviable record of publication for the papers presented during its initial decade. Thus it seemed to me to be appropriate to provide a ten-year survey of its achievements, together with a record of its founding, as a sort of recognition of its scholarly majority.

In September, 1969, I was employed as an Assistant Professor at Northwestern State University of Louisiana. I was an A.B.D. working in the field of Anglo-Irish Literature, and convinced of the importance of the field by the proliferation of organizations such as the American Committee for Irish Studies, the Irish American Cultural Institute, and the International Association for the Study of Anglo-Irish Literature, and by a stunning bibliography of recent work in the field. I had earlier attended several SCMLA meetings, and knew that papers on Irish writers drew crowds, and that a Joyce special section in 1965 had been particularly well-received. I did not know how one began to organize a new section, so I wrote to my friend and mentor, Weldon Thornton, asking who he considered the most active force in Anglo-Irish literature study in the region. His reply was instant; I should contact Professor Thomas Staley of the University of Tulsa, editor The James Joyce Quarterly, a man of fierce energy and interest. With some trepidation I wrote both to Professor Staley and to James A. Castaneda, then Executive Secretary of SCMLA. Both responded quickly.

Professor Castaneda suggested that we meet at the October SCMLA conference at Houston to discuss forming a special interest group which, if it drew adequate numbers of interested scholars, might, after three years, be made a permanent section of SCMLA. He was frank in his appraisal of our chances: not very good at present. Professor Staley was characteristically enthusiastic. He would be pleased to participate, happy to go with me to propose the section to the SCMLA Board of Directors, and interested in the results of our attempt. More to the point, he suggested a blanket letter to each department chairman in the region, to be given to the relevant faculty members.

Early on October 31, 1969, in the Silver Room of the Rice Hotel in Houston, a hard-core cell met. There were several there who are undoubtedly present at this 1980 meeting: Professor Staley, Roger Stilling of LSU, H. Frew Waidner of Tulsa, Clement Goode of Baylor, Sam Woods of Oklahoma State, Joe R. Christopher of Tarleton State University, myself, and, by virtue of a very excited letter, Richard Finneran of Newcomb, who would be joining us in the spring. We determined to hold a special interest section at the 1970 SCMLA meeting in Memphis, and selected Professor Staley as first chairman, with myself as section secretary. At a subsequent SCMLA Executive Committee meeting in the top-floor ballroom of the hotel, such a section was approved.

The first program was presented at Memphis on Thursday evening, October 20, 1970. It featured papers by Weldon Thornton of the University of North Carolina, James Newcomer of TCU, Richard J. Finneran of Newcomb, Bernard Benstock of Kent State University, and James H. Matthews of the University of Tulsa. The quality was exceptionally high; four of the papers were subsequently published, and the fifth—by Thornton—was an introductory survey of the state of scholarship in the area in 1970. The attendance, it says in the margin of my program schedule, was an amazing 113. The SCMLA Executive Committee not only approved continuation toward section status, it commended the program and organizers. The section’s new secretary, by acclamation, was Richard Finneran. One particularly useful piece of SCMLA legislation was generated by this meeting: the SCMLA Policy Statement on the Formation and Continuation of Sections (January 9, 1971). A decision on the status of the group as a permanent section would, under this policy, be forthcoming at the spring, 1972 meeting of the Executive Committee.

At the 1971 meeting in New Orleans, the invited guest lecturer was the famous Anglo-Irish scholar Richard M. Kain, who read a paper on “Irish Periodical Literature, an Untilled Field.” It and two of the other three papers on the program were later published, a group of about 50 attended, and the Anglo-Irish Literature Section became a permanent section in 1972.

Thus Richard Finneran became chairman of the first official Anglo-Irish Literature Section of SCMLA in Tulsa, October 28, 1972. It has been an altogether remarkable section. Its guest lecturers list reads like a Who’s Who in Anglo-Irish literary study: Weldon Thornton, Bernard Benstock, Richard Kain, George M. Harper, John Moore, Jams Lovic Allen, James MacKillop, and Wilfred S. Dowden. Its programs have usually included five papers and twice offered only three, when submission quality was low; standards have therefore remained high. In the first nine years 41 papers were delivered, of which number I have been able to find subsequent publication credit for 30; bibliographies being as current as they are, there may be more coming out, but the figures are nonetheless very impressive. It would be interesting to compare batting averages with our imitators elsewhere.

The Anglo-Irish Section of SCMLA begins its second decade of meetings with the 1970 program; it has been a healthy baby, an active child, and bids fair to be a lively teenager. For those of us who were present at the beginning, it has been gratifying, and from one of us, than you for your continued and continuing interest and support.

Programs of SCMLA, 1970-1980

1970

Chairman: Thomas F. Staley, University of Tulsa

Secretary: Herbert V. Fackler, University of Tulsa

1. “The Study of Anglo-Irish Literature: Present State and Prospects,” Weldon Thornton, University of North Carolina

2. “Retracing Maria Edgeworth’s 1833 Tour of Connemara,” James Newcomer, Texas Christian University

3. “‘Old lecher with a love on every wind’: A Study of W. B. Yeats’s Stories of Red Hanrahan,” Richard J. Finneran, Newcomb College, Tulane Unviersity

4. “James Joyce and the Women of the Western World,” Bernard Benstock, Kent State University

5. “The Pattern of Intrusion in Some Irish Short Stories,” James H. Matthews, University of Tulsa

1971

Chairman: Herbert V. Fackler, University of Southwestern Louisiana

Secretary: Richard J. Finneran, Newcomb College

1. “The Poet and Politics: John Montague,” Frank Kersnowski, Trinity University

2. “Synge and Death,” Roger Stilling, Louisiana State University

3. “Generic Disjuncture in the Plays of J. M. Synge,” J. D. Willis, Northern State College (Aberdeen, SD)

4. “Irish Periodical Literature, an Untilled Field,” Richard M. Kain, University of Louisville

1972

Chairman: Richard J. Finneran, Newcomb College

Secretary: Frank Kersnowski, Trinity University

1. “Lady Gregory’s ‘The Fate of the Sons of Usnach’: . . . Tact and Success,” Herbert V. Fackler, University of Southwestern Louisiana

2. “Yeats and Blake,” Mary Catherine Flannery, University of Texas at Austin

3. “The ‘Worse Part of Life’: Yeats’s Quarrel with Rosicrucian Colleagues,” George M. Harper, Florida State University

4. “The Influence of Villiers de l’Isle-Adam on W. B. Yeats,” Lloyd Parks, North Texas State University

5. “James Joyce, The Book of Kells, and the Structure of Ulysses,” David F. Ward, Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts

1973

Chairman: Frank Kersnowski, Trinity University

Secretary: Mary Catherine Flannery, University of Texas, Austin

1. “Samuel Beckett’s Drama,” John Moore, Hollins College

2. “Courting Cathleen: Problems of Irish Writing During the Time of Yeats,” Robert D. Hamner, Hardin-Simmons University

3. “George Webber and Stephen Dedalus: Some Correspondences,” Harvey E. Netterville, University of Southwestern Louisiana

4. “Homosexuality as a Joycean Theme,” Mary E. Corn, University of Texas, Austin

5. “Blake and Shaw: The Problem of Contrary Rhetoric,” C. W. Spinks, Trinity University

1974

Chairman:

Secretary: Thomas F. Staley, University of Tulsa

1. “The Inauthentic Self in Finnegans Wake,” Margot C. Norris, University of Tulsa

2. “Romantic Irony in Ulysses,” J. J. Johnson, Texas Tech University

3. “George Fitzmaurice: Ireland’s Most Authentic Folk Dramatist,” Carol Gelderman, University of New Orleans

1975

Chairman: Thomas Staley, University of Tulsa

Secretary: James Newcomer, Texas Christian University

1. “O’Casey in His Letters,” Bernard Benstock, University of Illinois

2. “The Historical Aura of Joyce’s ‘Cyclops Episode,’” James T. Cox, University of Texas, Austin

3. “Galloping Gargoyle: Structure of J. P. Donleavy’s The Ginger Man,” Robert D. Hamner, Hardin-Simmons University

1976

Chairman: James Newcomer, Texas Christian University

Secretary: Herbert V. Fackler, University of Southwestern Louisiana

1. “Yeats’s Vision as Philosophic Satura,” Eugene Karkowski, Texas Tech University

2. “An Allusion to Pope’s Atticus Portrait in The Vicar of Wakefield and Its Significance,” Samuel H. Woods, Jr., Oklahoma State University

3. “The Figure of Repressed Womanhood in the Play sof O’Casey and Garcia Lorca,” Katie Davis, University of Southwestern Louisiana

4. “Lady Gregory: Shaw’s ‘Charwoman’ or Cinderella?” Clement T. Goode, Baylor University

5. “Imitate Him If You Dare: Relationships Between the Epitaphs of Swift and Yeats,” James Lovic Allen, University of Hawaii, Hilo, Exchange Professor, University of Tennessee

6. “Imagination vs. Intellect in Anglo-Irish Literature,” Weldon Thornton, University of North Carolina

1977

Chairman: Herbert V. Fackler, University of Southwestern Louisiana

Secretary: Robert D. Hamner, Hardin-Simmons University

1. “Irony and Epiphany in Joyce’s ‘The Dead,’” Larry Brunner, Hardin-Simmons University

2. “The Dead Art of ‘The Dead,’” Christopher P. Baker, Lamar University

3. “Lady Morgan: Generalization and Error,” James Newcomer, Texas Christian University

4. “A.E.’s Supernatural Imagery,” William Daniels, Southwestern at Memphis

5. “Yeats, Joyce, and the Irish Language,” James MacKillop, Onondaga Community College

1978

Chairman: Robert D. Hamner, Hardin-Simmons University

Secretary: Clement Goode, Baylor University

1. “Blake and Yeats: The Visionary Image and Experience,” C. W. Spinks, Trinity University

2. “The Mad Artist: Reality and Dream in Fitzmaurice’s Folk Plays,” Edelma deLeon, Appalachian State University

3. “Synge’s Deirdre of the Sorrows: Remaking the Legend,” Retta M. Taney, Xavier University of Louisiana

4. “Some Portraits of the Ladies in the Short Fiction of James Stephens,” Brian J. Murray, University of Tulsa

5. “The Constructive Use of Irony in Joyce’s Fiction,” Donald Palumbo, Lamar University

1979

Chairman: Clement T. Goode, Baylor University

Secretary: Joseph R. Christopher, Tarleton State University

1. “The Journal of Thomas Moore,” Wilfred S. Dowden, Rice University

2. “The Art and Influence of Daniel Corkery: A Munster Twilight Re-Examined,” Brian J. Murray, University of Tulsa

3. “‘Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time’: From Bronzino’s ‘Allegory’ to Iris Nurdoch’s Fiction,” Ann Gussman, Texas Christian University

4. “Yeats vs. Tragic Reality: The Weapons of the Mind and Will,” Larry Brunner, Hardin-Simmons University

5. “Yeats’s Moods,” Ronald Schleifer, University of Oklahoma

1980

Chairman: Joseph R. Christopher, Tarleton State University

Secretary: Cary Spinks, Trinity University

1. “Compositions of Place and Portrait without Frames: The Letters of James Joyce,” Thomas F. Staley, The University of Tulsa

2. “James Stephens’ Heroic Laughter,” Sylvia R. McLaurin, The University of Tennessee

3. “Sehnsucht in County Down: Irish Influences on C. S. Lewis,” W. R. Wortman, Baylor University

4. “‘Do you dance, Minnaloushe, do you dance?’: The Dancer in Yeats’ Poetry,” Sharon Adele Jessee, The University of Tulsa

Programs of SCMLA, 1981-1984

By

Joe R. Christopher

Department of English

Tarleton State University

1981

Chairman: C. W. Spinks, Trinity University

Secretary: Larry Brunner, Hardin-Simmons University

1. “Shaw and the Uses of History,” Dan H. Laurence, Advisor to the Shaw Estate

2. “Aesthetic Distance in Yeats’s ‘Leda and the Swan,’” Nancy Hargrove, Mississippi State University

3. “Literary Criticism through Art: An Examination of Yeats’s Critical Prose,” Alice Goodwin

1982

Chairman: Larry Brunner, Hardin-Simmons University

Secretary: Ronald Schleifer, University of Oklahoma

1. “W. B. Yeas and the Powers of Language,” Linda Leavell, Rice University

2. “‘The Circus Animals’ Desertion’: Yeats’ Apologia,” Glen Bollman, Louisiana State University at Shreveport

3. “Mrs. S. C. Hall and The Whiteboy,” James Newcomer, Texas Christian University

4. “Notes on the Harp and Anglo-Irish Literature,” Carol Wood, McNeese State University

1983

Chairman: Ronald Schleifer, University of Oklahoma

Secretary: Nancy Hargrove, Mississippi State University

1. “Lady Morgan: a 1980’s Appraisal,” James Newcomer, Fort Worth

2. “Emerson and Ireland,” Elizabeth S. Dunn, University of Texas at Tyler

3. “Yeats’s Quarrel with Modernism,” Debra Journet, Louisiana State University

4. “The Anti-Schematics of Finnegans Wake,” Bernard Benstock, University of Tulsa

Special Evening Program

5. “Thomas Moore’s Irish Melodies: Artistry in Song,” Wilfred S. Dowden, presenter, Rice University, with Carol Wood, McNeese State Univeristy, on harp

1984

Program Arranger: Nancy D. Hargrove, Mississippi State University

Acting Chairperson: Debra Journet, Louisiana State University

1. A Readers’ Theatre Presentation of W. B. Yeats’s “Purgatory,” directed by Patricia Wells, Mississippi State University

2. “‘A New Art’: Yeats and Music,” Paul Cohen, Southwest Texas State University

3. “Maud Gonne: More than a Figure in Yeats’s Verse,” Kate Myers, University of Tulsa

4. “Narrative Structure in Beckett’s Still, Sounds, and Still 3,” Laura Barge, University of Alabama