CAMBRIA PRESS blog

With much gratitude to the RMMLA committee, in particular Joy Landeira and Christopher Lupke, Cambria Press had a very productive and enjoyable time at the RMMLA 2013 annual convention.

Cambria Press director Toni Tan was heartened to meet many scholars daring enough to push the envelope when it comes to scholarship, given how Toni Tan‘s speech was one in which she strongly encouraged scholars to do so by speaking on a topic which generally raises eyebrows (see Sexuality and Contemporary Literature). From anasyrma (e.g., Sacred Display), bisexuality, gerontophilia, homosexuality (e.g., Gay Drama Now), the healing powers of sex, the right to sexual desires (e.g., A Study of Two Classics), the relationship of sex and food, and sexual identities in relation to body types (e.g., What is Eating Latin American Women Writers?), she also delved into even more taboo issues such as incest, rape, sexual violation, and loss of sexual power (e.g., A Serbian Film and Push / Precious). The speech concluded with a quote from Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian‘s book, Gao Xingjian: Aesthetics and Creation,

“Both rationality and sensuousness are necessary paths to human understanding. Literature can instigate deep reflection in people because it can reveal the bewilderment and anxiety, the searching and going astray in human life with such incisiveness and can fully manifest the minute details of human nature. This propensity to startle and awaken transcends political correctness and ethical teachings, and is far superior to anything postmodernist semantic analysis and word games can offer.”

Toni Tan was also part of the publishing forum panel with Joy Landeira, Wendy Larson, and Christopher Lupke. All seats for the session were taken–it was a highly informative discussion; audience members asked important questions while panel members provided helpful advice on how to publish books and journal articles. A post on this will be written up soon, so look out for it.

Don’t forget the RMMLA 2013 special promotion for any hardcover book priced at only $49 per title (savings of over 40%!) Please be sure to tell your librarian too so they can also enjoy these savings! This ends on October 31.

We are already looking forward to the 2014 RMMLA annual convention which will take place in Boise, Idaho, especially because Dr. Victor Mair (general editor of the Cambria Sinophone World Series) will be the keynote speaker for the convention–this is definitely a speech you don’t want to miss. The same applies to the other series, such as:

• Cambria Studies in Australian Literature
• Cambria Studies in Classicism, Orientalism, and Medievalism
• Cambria Studies in Contemporary Literature, Film, and Theory
• Cambria Studies in Contemporary Global Performing Arts
• Cambria Studies in Latin American Literatures and Cultures
• Cambria Studies in Slavery: Past and Present

* * * * * * * *

STAY POSTED! LIKE Cambria Press on Facebook, follow Cambria Press on Twitter, and share this news from Cambria Press on Google+!