About the Journal
PLL is a generalist journal of literary criticism and scholarship published quarterly at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. PLL publishes essays on all national literatures and historical periods, book reviews, and reviews of academic and public-facing events related to literary studies. PLL defines the word "language" broadly and welcomes submissions on visual and/or digital languages.
PLL began publication in 1965; its founding editor was Nicholas T. Joost, who was succeeded by Alvin Sullivan until his passing in 1991. The journal was then edited by Dickie Spurgeon from 1991 to 1992, then passed to co-editorship under Jack G. Voller and Brian Abel Ragen until 1997, at which point Professor Ragen edited the journal until his retirement in 2008. Professor Voller returned for five years as editor until his retirement in 2013.
Editor
Helena Gurfinkel
Associate Editors
Maurice Hunt, Christine Krueger, and Brian Abel Ragen
Managing Editor
Melanie Ethridge
Advisory Board
Guinn Batten—Washington University in St. Louis
Merrick Burrow—The University of Huddersfield
Jodi A. Byrd—The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Joseph Conte—The University at Buffalo
Cathy N. Davidson—The Graduate Center, CUNY
Stephen M. Fallon—The University of Notre Dame
Oren Izenberg—The University of California, Irvine
Simon P. Joyce—The College of William and Mary
Laura H. Korobkin—Boston University
Joseph D. Litvak—Tufts University
Deidre Shauna Lynch—Harvard University
Gene A. Plunka—The University of Memphis
Howard Rambsy—Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Margaret Stetz—The University of Delaware
Ayanna Thompson—Arizona State University
Karen L. Tongson—The University of Southern California
Stephanie Trigg—The University of Melbourne
H. Aram Veeser—City College, The City University of New York
PLL is a member and subscribes to the principles of the Council of Editors of Learned Journals, an MLA allied organization.
