The Ibsen Society of America
President’s Letter

11 December 2023
Dear members of the ISA:In my last President’s Letter (January 2021), I sought your feedback on the Society’s future. I
subsequently hosted an online meeting, open to the membership. Thank you to those whoattended. Since that time, community and scholarly support for the Ibsen Society of America hascontinued to dwindle, and the Council has been considering the best ways to sustain some of its
most important remaining functions. After much deliberation, we have decided that the most
reasonable course of action is to dissolve the non-profit organization, while preserving its legacy
by merging certain features with the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies(SASS), a learned society with whom we are already affiliated.
Some of the work that ISA has done will be continued by SASS.
The Society’s publication, Ibsen News and Comment (INC) will be discontinued. As noted in mylast letter, INC has been an important record of both Ibsen performances and writings on Ibsen
since its first appearance in 1980. Its early issues are treasure houses of information, containing
interviews with directors and actors like Lee Strasberg, Eva Le Gallienne, and James Earl Jones,
as well as scholar/critics like Eric Bentley and Francis Fergusson. From Rolf Fjelde, the firsteditor, to Joan Templeton, the journal has featured “Ibsen on Stage,” which includes ISA
members’ reviews of productions all over America and Europe. The field of Ibsen studies owes
much to the editors of INC, particularly Joan Templeton, who edited the publication for morethan 20 years.
It is a great pity to have to discontinue INC, but we do not know of any scholar who is bothwilling and qualified to take over the editor’s job. Fortunately, a full record of INC remains
available on JSTOR and continues to bring new readers to Ibsen studies. Alongside the ISAssavings, the revenue that the publication brought to the ISA (approximately $1690 throughJSTOR and $150 through Proquest annually) will be managed by SASS. All funds will be used
to support the two legacy-preserving goals named below.
The ISA website will no longer be maintained. We will soon alert the public by announcing thedissolution of the Society on that site. We will redirect visitors to SASS’s pages.
How will we preserve the legacy of the ISA?
One of the most important functions of the ISA in recent years has been to support both juniorand senior scholars doing research on Ibsen, drama, theater, and performance. Over the course of
the next year, we will work to create a Memorandum of Agreement with SASS. Our primarygoals include,Gunn 1

1. guaranteeing that a panel on Ibsen continue to be organized at the annual SASS
conference, and2. organizing and awarding an Ibsen Society of America Legacy Prize at SASS.
The annual ISA panel at SASS has served the essential purpose of supporting Ibsen studies inNorth America. At the 2024 SASS conference, all proposed papers relevant to Ibsen will beconsidered for that panel, which aims to showcase cutting edge research on Ibsen from a variety
of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives. Proposals for sharing new research on Ibsen
and “movement” (the 2024 Presidential theme) as well as proposals guided by other themes andapproaches, are welcome. Within Ibsen studies, “movement” could refer to manifestations ofIbsen on global and local stages, the dynamics of theatrical practices, global adaptations, thesociopolitics and history of drama and performance, and more. Papers in Ibsen studies notselected for the ISA panel will be considered for other relevant streams and panels at SASS.
SASS 2024 will be hosted by the Department of Scandinavian Studies at the University ofWashington in Seattle, from 9-11 May 2024. Paper proposals can be submitted here:
https://scandinavianstudy.org/annual-meeting/sass-2024-seattle/
Both of the above-stated goals will require the formation of an Ibsen committee within SASS.
Please note that the ISA will soon close the capacity to pay dues via PayPal. This means thatyou might receive a notice that your automatic payment has been refused.
I understand that the contents of this letter will be distressing to many of you. I am sorry to be
the messenger. Please know that we have not made these decisions lightly. I am committed tomaintaining the ISA’s legacy through SASS, by supporting excellent scholarship on Ibsen,drama, theater, and performance. As always, I welcome your comments, concerns, andquestions.
Perhaps some of you would like to make one final donation to the Ibsen Society of America.
This donation would be used to support scholars (including graduate students) who will continue
to produce great work on Ibsen, by means of the ISA Legacy Prize presented at SASS. If you aremotivated to contribute to preserving the ISA’s legacy, you will be able to donate by sending acheck payable to the Ibsen Society of America to Gergana May (3141 N Valleyview Dr.,
Bloomington, IN 47404) until 1 June 2024.
With gratitude,

Olivia Noble Gunn
ogunn@uw.eduGunn 2