By Jeffrey Susla, Nichols College It was straight out of a Bond film. Upon arrival at Jacksonville, Florida’s Marriott hotel I was greeted by the sight of the three-story high yacht, Kismet, berthed on the St. John’s River (Florida’s longest). Apparently, Shahid Kahn, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, was in town. From the glass…
Words by Jeffrey Susla, Nichols College Due to Hurricane Ian, 2022’s South Atlantic Modern Language Association’s annual conference was conducted online. The 2023 conference, “(In)Security: The Future of Language and Literature Studies” held in Atlanta, was without weather concerns, but it was a whirlwind of events, nevertheless. Once again, Oliver Buckton, Professor of English at…
2022 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the film Dr. No and the publication of Ian Fleming’s ninth James Bond novel, The Spy Who Loved Me. Both these works represent watershed moments for the character of James Bond, the film launching the beginnings of Bond mania, and the novel presented from the female perspective, Bond himself absent until the…
Article by Jeffrey Susla, Nichols College For the past six years, James Bond has had a prominent place at the annual South Atlantic Modern Language Association conference. In November 2021, it was held virtually and the sessions on Bond “Networks” were co-chaired by Oliver Buckton, Professor of English at Florida Atlantic University, and Matthew Sherman,…
This year’s SAMLA 2021 conference is the theme of “Social Networks/Social Distances,” and they are inviting paper proposals on any aspects of Bond, Fleming, and Networks. This could include the way James Bond interacts with and/or distances from various spy networks, such as the Soviet noir SMERSH, the international terror organization SPECTRE, and the Cambridge…
From the first publication of Fleming’s James Bond novels in the 1950s, up to the troubled and controversial production of No Time To Die – the 25th Bond film–the persona and milieu of Bond has attracted scandal. Lambasted in 1958 by Paul Johnson for “sex, snobbery, and sadism” Fleming’s novels attracted still more notoriety when…
We have two more calls for papers for the annual SAMLA conference between November 15-17, 2019 in Atlanta. Please send 250-word proposals, brief bios, and A/V requirements to Oliver Buckton (obuckton@fau.edu) and Matt Sherman (baconbond@gmail.com) by May 15th, 2019. James Bond as Popular Icon: Goldfinger at 60 (and 55) Goldfinger—the seventh James Bond novel by…
In 1952, Ian Fleming penned the first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, at Goldeneye, his winter home in Jamaica. Each successive Bond novel was written at Goldeneye, and several of the most memorable and exciting novels were set in Jamaica. 2018 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the publication of Ian Fleming’s fifth James Bond novel, Dr No, (1958)…
Article by Matt Sherman I felt lucky to join November’s annual gathering of Bond fanatics for debate, discourse and delicious cocktails, a celebration of all things 007 with professors and their students. Learn why SAMLA is fast turning into Bond Brains Central. ** When my friend and fellow 007 collector Carlos Perez contacted me about…
This year’s SAMLA Conference takes place between November 3-5 at the Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta, Georgia and this year, the topic is ‘From Russia with Love At 60: Serious Spy novel or popular escapism?‘. Once again Oliver Buckton chairs the event, which proves to be a classic. Friday November 3 10:00AM-11:30AM Elyn Achtymichuk, University of Saskatchewan…
2017 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the publication of Ian Fleming’s fifth James Bond novel, From Russia With Love and to celebrate there will be a 60th Anniversary Panel for the SAMLA 89 Conference in Atlanta, GA, from Nov 3-5 2017. The novel holds a special place in the Bond canon, for it was this novel that…
Artistic Licence Renewed 