April 23rd, 2018 by WCBC Radio
Dr. Amy Branam Armiento, associate professor of English at Frostburg State University, has been elected president of the Poe Studies Association (PSA). Since 1972, PSA has supported the exchange of information on the life, works, times and influence of Edgar Allan Poe. Armiento will serve a two-year term as president.
“This is the culmination of my career as a Poe scholar,” said Armiento. “This is a big deal, not only for me personally, but this is a big deal for FSU as well.”
Armiento’s scholarly interest in Edgar Allan Poe began in high school, and Poe’s work would form the basis of her doctoral dissertation. Yet she did not consider herself an “official” Poe scholar until her first publication in “The Edgar Allan Poe Review,” the official journal of PSA, in 2007. That publication meant she had earned the acknowledgment of colleagues in her discipline. Now she leads the association she has long held in such high esteem.
Armiento hopes to support ongoing successful initiatives while also bridging a gap within the Poe community.
“You have these serious scholars, and then on the other hand you have pop-culture people who just love him, his stories and his lore. … I think enough good work is being done in pop-culture that we are ready to bring the two worlds together.”
Armiento has been a member of PSA’s executive committee since 2011.
As president of PSA, Armiento will oversee numerous initiatives and events in multiple countries, collaborating with co-sponsoring organizations around the world. PSA hosts international Poe conferences in American cities where the author lived and worked. It also co-sponsors conferences around the world on the study of Poe and his contemporaries, such as the International Poe & Hawthorne Conference in Kyoto, Japan, this June.
PSA publishes “The Edgar Allan Poe Review” biannually and maintains a listserv to facilitate year-round scholarly conversations and debate. It also recognizes exceptional contributions of Poe research with honorary memberships and awards.
For more information about PSA, visit www.poestudiesassociation.org.
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