The Washington Irving Society, an author society which falls under the umbrella of the American Literature Association, was resurrected during the 2009 ALA conference in Boston.
According to curators at Historic Hudson Valley, “many years ago, when this organization was called Sleepy Hollow Restorations, staff members along with consultant Andrew Myers formed an affinity group called the Washington Irving Society. It was run by SHR, now Historic Hudson Valley. Irving scholars, book collectors, and assorted devotees joined by paying a modest fee. The group hosted a few scholarly conferences and published a newsletter. (At that time SHR also maintained a publishing arm called Sleepy Hollow Press. It published many Irving-related titles, but was eventually sold to Fordham University). As Andy reached retirement, and the organization shifted its mission away from supporting scholarly publications, the Washington Irving Society was disbanded.”
The new society plans to unite scholars with other Irving enthusiasts by having a website that caters to the needs of all interested parties. The group will also host panels at various conferences, support and encourage efforts at Historic Hudson Valley to preserve Irving’s legacy, and encourage young scholars to consider Irving. The Irving Society hosted a panel, round table, and business meeting at ALA 2009 in Boston. Upcoming panels are scheduled for ALA 2010 in San Francisco and SCMLA 2010 in Fort Worth.
Though we are using WordPress right now to disseminate information quickly, another Web site is in the works. Stay tuned.
