Back from the MLA at DC. A nice old (indeed historical) hotel, the Wardman Park Marriott. We stayed a day after the conference actually ended since the doorman here had warned us about a noisy party down on the third floor (we're on 5) this Friday (Dec 30). It turned out the party was actually on New Year's Eve (of course) and turned out to be pretty quiet....the conference itself was fine: I gave a paper and attended some (the one I got most out of was on Byron and Byronism) but most of the time was spent meeting up with Australian friends and colleagues, and with publishers. I went to the party in honour of Hillis Miller and it was good to be able to catch up briefly with him and congratulate him on his award. I was devestated to hear that Routledge had sacked Bill Germano: that kind of news is really shaking. Bill has been important to academic publishing for the past 15 years or so. And then of course Routledge forgot to bring copies of Cultural Studies: a critical introduction to their stand! God only knows what that outfit think they are doing.
It looks as though my proposal for a book on the literary world is at long last taking shape since both the publishers I talked to are interested in giving me a contract. For some weird reason I'd like a contract rather than just writing it and sending it out when done which is what most people at my stage in their careers do, I think. Having a contract in hand just gives me a sense of more security and urgency too, although I know that the contract doesnt mean a great deal, since it doesnt compel publishers to actually publish the book.
And so now the work is really piling up. And what with baby coming late April (I dont think the blog officially knows: but we are expecting a little girl circa April 24) I'm not sure how I am going to get everything done.
A to do list:
1. a short essay for a catalogue to a young Australian and New Zealand art exhibition which will tour Eastern Europe. I have a week to write this, which is being done strictly for the money.
2. a revision to my essay on Milton and visual culture which is already late for the proposed volume by Brewer and McCalman.
3. tidying up my paper on colonialism and irreligion (which I gave at the MLA) so that it at least looks like a draft for a chapter or journal essay.
4. more work on my ASECS paper on 18thc literary institutions. Part of this paper will probably have to be used for the 'belief' talk I am to give at Rutgers next year too.
5. in theory more urgent than anything: the ms etc for the 3rd ed of The Cultural Studies Reader. I havent even decided what essays to include: since Rebecca left Routledge, my heart isnt really in it, though it does make money.
6. Reworking actually what I want my book of my own essays contracted with Routledge to look like. This problem hasn't yet been solved. I now have way too many unpublished papers/essays.
7. Getting on with the big book, and, quite urgently, preparing the materials to allow my putative publishers to go to their boards for a contract. (And then I will have to decide which publisher actually to go with once that's all done.)
8. (And all this doesnt deal with various lectures I have to give this year most of which hopefully can be versions of material in place.)
And there's probably more I have forgotten about.
So you can see I am kind of petrified about all this: I have a big teaching semester coming up, we will be in Florence for Fall semester 2006 and once baby comes what will happen???