The Alice Cary Society

The Alice Cary Society seeks to provide a network and forum for the study of American author Alice Cary (1820-1871).

We encourage and support scholarship and activities that illuminate Cary’s contribution to the American literary tradition, and we seek to preserve her literary significance for future generations. We also encourage and support scholarship and activities that illuminate the work of Alice’s sister and fellow writer, Phoebe Cary (1824-1871).

If you’re a scholar or advanced graduate student interested in conference presentations or scholarly journals, you may want to check our page on Upcoming Presentations.

OUR HISTORY

The Alice Cary Society will officially launch in 2026 at the conference of the American Literature Association, an organization made up of scholarly societies devoted to the study of American authors. Most better-known American authors have a society of their own, and even though Alice Cary has long been seen by scholars as a key 19th century figure in American Literature, to our knowledge there has not been a scholarly society focused on her work. An inaugural panel gathering professors and independent scholars from American universities will address the question: How and Why Alice Cary Matters for the Study of American Literature.

The society will create an advisory board made up scholars working on Cary’s poetry and fiction, and will sponsor panels at upcoming ALA conferences and other conferences.