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About the Mississippi Philological Association

The Mississippi Philological Association (MPA) hosts an annual meeting for professors, graduate students, writers, poets, and those interested in language and literature. We also publish POMPA, Publications of the Mississippi Philological Association, a record of the proceedings comprising outstanding papers and creative work.

MPA 2027 at MSU

The 2027 annual meeting of MPA will take place in the Mitchell Memorial Library on the campus of Mississippi State University, February 26–27, with Reconstructions and Reimaginings as the theme.

MPA 2027 will feature the following as part of the meeting schedule:

Keynote by Diamond Forde

Diamond Forde is the author of The Book of Alice (Scribner, 2026), winner of the James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets, and Mother Body (Saturnalia Books, 2021). Forde’s talk will be open to MPA participants and to the public.

The Future of Mississippi Literary History

This plenary roundtable discussion will honor the life and work of Dr. Lorie Watkins Massey, a longtime supporter of MPA and of Publications of the Mississippi Philological Association (POMPA). Participants will reflect on A Literary History of Mississippi (Heritage of Mississippi Series, University Press of Mississippi), edited by Dr. Massey, ten years after its publication and discuss what the past decade suggests about what Mississippi literary history might look like down the line.

Benjamin F. Fisher Panel on 19th-Century American Literature

All proposals for critical presentations on works from 19th-century American literature will be considered. Papers on literature of the Reconstruction era are especially encouraged. This panel is dedicated to Dr. Fisher, who was a professor of English at the University of Mississippi and a frequent presenter at MPA on topics related to the study of 19th-century American literature.

Robert Hamblin Creative Panel

All creative writing proposals will be considered. Dr. Hamblin, a native of Booneville, Mississippi, and professor emeritus at Southeast Missouri State University, received his doctoral degree from the University of Mississippi before joining the faculty of SEMO, where he founded and led the Center for Faulkner Studies. He has published numerous volumes of poetry in addition to novels and memoirs.

MPA 2027 Links