Hollins University Literary Festival
A literary festival it certainly was, Saturday at Hollins University. Becky drove her PT and I attended with three purposes: First, to hear and meet the award-winning authors, second to meet other writers and readers, and third, to scout around the premises a bit with the intent of enticing my 16-year-old grandaughter Anna to consider Hollins during her current college tour.
The three authors were excellent: Charlotte Matthews, with a list of awards as long as your arm for her poetry, told us a wonderful story about her young daughter. It seems her daughter had an imaginary friend named Amy for many years, and one day Mom and daughter went into a small Charlottesville gift shop full of cards and stationery. The attractive young clerk smiled at Matthews' daughter, and said: Hi, I'm Amy!
The daughter replied: Oh, it's YOU, squealing with joy. The two immediately talked with one another as if, indeed, they'd known each other for years! Matthews was a bit nonplused, to say the least. And she told us the gift shop Amy periodically sends a note or a card to her daughter, with no return address on the envelope, and always just signed Amy. "It's a bit frightening!" she admitted.
S.J. Rozan was another speaker, a native New Yorker widely regarded as one of the finest crime writers to emerge in recent years. She, too, has won many prestigious awards for Best Novel and Best Short Story. While crime novels are not my particular interest, her reading was top-notch.
Christine Schutt was the afternoon speaker, and the one I was most interested in hearing. She's Writer-in-Residence at Hollins for 2008, so I'm certain there will be other opportunities to hear her read from her works. Her writing style, with a captivating rhythm, was wonderful. She, too, has won many awards, including a Pushcart Prize and an O. Henry Short Story Prize. I bought her book, A Day, A Night, Another Day, Summer which is a collection of short stories that was published in 2005 to wide acclaim.
We had a really nice lunch chosen from Hollins' cafeteria; contrary to the festival's write-up, the lunch was complimentary. We sat with Kevin Kittredge, the Arts Contributor for the Roanoke Times, and had a nice conversation with him as well as with a woman on the Roanoke Library Board.
It was quite an event, and I'm definitely sending my grandaughter an e-mail "postcard" from Hollins to get her to visit their Web site. She's won writing awards for several years, and I've always felt Hollins would be a good fit for her.
The three authors were excellent: Charlotte Matthews, with a list of awards as long as your arm for her poetry, told us a wonderful story about her young daughter. It seems her daughter had an imaginary friend named Amy for many years, and one day Mom and daughter went into a small Charlottesville gift shop full of cards and stationery. The attractive young clerk smiled at Matthews' daughter, and said: Hi, I'm Amy!
The daughter replied: Oh, it's YOU, squealing with joy. The two immediately talked with one another as if, indeed, they'd known each other for years! Matthews was a bit nonplused, to say the least. And she told us the gift shop Amy periodically sends a note or a card to her daughter, with no return address on the envelope, and always just signed Amy. "It's a bit frightening!" she admitted.
S.J. Rozan was another speaker, a native New Yorker widely regarded as one of the finest crime writers to emerge in recent years. She, too, has won many prestigious awards for Best Novel and Best Short Story. While crime novels are not my particular interest, her reading was top-notch.
Christine Schutt was the afternoon speaker, and the one I was most interested in hearing. She's Writer-in-Residence at Hollins for 2008, so I'm certain there will be other opportunities to hear her read from her works. Her writing style, with a captivating rhythm, was wonderful. She, too, has won many awards, including a Pushcart Prize and an O. Henry Short Story Prize. I bought her book, A Day, A Night, Another Day, Summer which is a collection of short stories that was published in 2005 to wide acclaim.
We had a really nice lunch chosen from Hollins' cafeteria; contrary to the festival's write-up, the lunch was complimentary. We sat with Kevin Kittredge, the Arts Contributor for the Roanoke Times, and had a nice conversation with him as well as with a woman on the Roanoke Library Board.
It was quite an event, and I'm definitely sending my grandaughter an e-mail "postcard" from Hollins to get her to visit their Web site. She's won writing awards for several years, and I've always felt Hollins would be a good fit for her.
posted by Marion | 5:01 PM
6 Comments:
It was fun, wasn't it? One of the best ones they've had in recent years.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I would have loved to hear the 3pm critiques, I have a friend who submitted her poetry for consideration. I attended the NoShame theater late Friday night, and I just couldn't make the trip out again on Saturday morning.
Sorry, Amy, but we didn't stay for the poetry critiques, even tho our buddy Jeff Reid (formerly with the Eagle)was entered as well. By the time Schutt's reading ended and they scheduled a break (& I'd gotten her to sign her book for me) we decided it was time to head for home.
Wish I could have been there! Thank you so much for reporting back for those of us that missed it. I will have to mark it with a sharpie on my calendar for next year!!
Sounds fun and enriching. I'm pretty sure my friend Mara was there, up for a contest or something.
Wish I could have been there. I really have to get to these things with you guys.
Let me know how that book is. I love short story collections.
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