S169.
NBCC at #AWP22 on Comics Criticism: Graphic Novels as Both Literature & Pop
Saturday, March 26, 2022
12:10 pm to 1:25 pm
The medium of comics is well-established as presenting works of literary value, but critical writing can be mired in a defensive position (not just for kids, not just illustration, not just a fad). Critics and culture writers discuss the challenges and opportunities in embracing comics as both literature and pop culture; the essential role of diverse communities in comics; drawing on art, literary, and film criticism as reference; the pitfalls of boosterism; and how criticism pushes the field.
Participants
Meg Lemke is the graphic novel reviews editor at Publishers Weekly and editor in chief at MUTHA Magazine and has curated events and festival programs for literary organizations including the Brooklyn Book Festival, PEN America, and the French Comics Association.
Jonathan W. Gray is associate professor of English at John Jay College-CUNY and CUNY Grad Center. He has authored Civil Rights in the White Literary Imagination and coedited Disability in Comics and Graphic Novels. He contributes periodically to the New Republic and Film Quarterly among other publications.
Robert Kirby is a cartoonist and writer currently living in St Paul, Minnesota. His books include Curbside Boys and the Ignatz Award-winning anthology QU33R. He is a regular contributor to Publisher's Weekly, the Comics Journal, and SOLRAD.
Tahneer Oksman
