Our 2024 PAMLA Conference was held at the Riviera Resort in Palm Springs, California, from Thursday, November 7 through Sunday, November 10, 2024!
The 121st Annual PAMLA Conference brought together faculty, students, writers, artists, and independent scholars for four days of scholarship, creative work, conversation, and community in Southern California. Held entirely in person, the conference featured dozens of sessions across the humanities and arts, along with a wide range of special events, creative programs, and opportunities for PAMLA members to connect with one another.
The conference featured a keynote address by poet Marilyn Chin, who opened the conference with “Translations/Transnations/Transmogrifications: An Interactive Poetry Reading & Discussion.” The program also included PAMLA President Juan Delgado’s presidential address, “The Stories We Retranslate,” and a plenary address by Johanna Drucker on the processes of mediation, translation, and book production through the lens of artists’ books.
PAMLA 2024 also offered a rich program of creative and interdisciplinary events, including the PAMLA Forum on “Translation and Creativity,” featuring Marilyn Chin, Johanna Drucker, and Sholeh Wolpé; a creative conversation with literary scholar Seth Lerer; and an author spotlight and performance by Iranian-American poet, playwright, and librettist Sholeh Wolpé.
The conference also highlighted the arts and culture of Southern California through museum-sponsored events, including discussions hosted by the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and the Palm Springs Art Museum. Conference attendees were also invited to a special screening and discussion of Adam Graves’s award-winning short film ANUJA, which explored child labor, girls’ education, and the bond between sisters.
We are grateful to all of our speakers, presenters, presiding officers, chairs, volunteers, attendees, and university and community partners who helped make PAMLA 2024 a memorable conference. We especially thank our 2024 Conference Co-Sponsors for their generous support:
Our 2024 Conference Co-Sponsors included:
- The National Center for the Study of Children’s Literature
- San Diego State University Department of English & Comparative Literature
- Pomona College Asian Languages & Literatures, Classics, English, German & Russian, Romance Languages & Literatures Departments, the Humanities Studio, & the Dean’s Office
- California State University, San Bernardino
- California Baptist University
- La Sierra University College of Arts & Sciences, Zapara School of Business, & Departments of English and History
- California State University, Los Angeles College of Arts and Letters
- The Dorothy Ramon Learning Center
- University of California, Riverside Center for Ideas & Society and Departments of English and Comparative Literature & Languages