Bread Loaf Writers' Conference

Bread Loaf Writers' Conference

The Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, called by The New Yorker, "the oldest and most prestigious writers' conference in the country" was founded in 1926. It is held every summer at the Bread Loaf Inn, near Bread Loaf Mountain, east of Middlebury, Vermont. The conference is sponsored by Middlebury College and at its inception was very closely associated with Robert Frost, who attended a total of 29 sessions, according to "The New Yorker". Frost lived in nearby Ripton.

Every other day for ten days, the 230 participants attend ten-person workshops, where their writing is assessed by the faculty and others in the workshop, including Scholars and Fellows. Numerous readings, craft classes, events, and agent meetings are also included. Michael Collier, a poet and professor at the University of Maryland and director of the conference, told "Seven Days" newspaper of Vermont the event shouldn't be confused with the more leisurely model of a writers' retreat. It's "designed for learning rather than for on-site writing." "USA Today" in a [http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/10great/2005-06-23-literary-festivals_x.htm piece] on summer literary gatherings, said of Bread Loaf, "There is nowhere in America where you can hear more great writers reading more great work in such a short space of time." Seven Days notes that participants are warned to pace themselves to avoid exhaustion.

According to "Seven Days", the likelihood of general admission to Bread Loaf (in 2005) stood at about 17 percent, given a total applicant pool of 1,500. Of those accepted, 170 students pay full fare. These people are called Contributors (because they contribute to the workshops with their writing). "The New Yorker" wrote that the most coveted scholarships to Bread Loaf are the 25 "Waiterships," in which promising writers earn their keep by serving three meals a day to the paying guests. Besides the Waiterships, applicants who've been published can try for tuition scholarships, and those with a published book can become Bread Loaf Teaching Fellows. Waiters, Tuition Scholars, and Fellows are given the opportunity to give public readings.

Noted authors who have been associated with the conference over the years include James Brown, John Ciardi, Bernard DeVoto, Robert Frost, John Gardner, Donald Hall, John Irving, Shirley Jackson, Barry Lopez, Carson McCullers, Norman Mailer, Toni Morrison, May Sarton, Anne Sexton, Eudora Welty and Richard Yates

Recent Faculty have included Julia Alvarez, Andrea Barrett, Charles Baxter, Linda Bierds, Robert Boswell, Lan Samantha Chang, Robert Cohen, Ted Conover, Mark Doty, Percival Everett, Lynn Freed, Linda Gregerson, Patricia Hampl, Edward Hirsch, Brigit Pegeen Kelly, William Kittredge, Antonya Nelson, Carl Phillips, Natasha Trethewey, Ellen Bryant Voigt, Daniel Wallace and Dean Young.

Recent Fellows at the Conference have included Christopher Castellani, Geri Doran, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Ilya Kaminsky, Suji Kwock Kim, Naeem Murr, Peter Orner, Eric Puchner, Richard Siken, Monique Truong, Vendela Vida and C. Dale Young.

Well-known recipients of Waiterships have included Julia Alvarez, Amanda Davis, Carolyn Forche, Jonathan Galassi, Publisher and Editor in Chief of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Tama Janowitz, Antonya Nelson and Joy Williams.

The Conference is currently administered by Michael Collier (Director), Jennifer Grotz (Assistant Director) and Noreen Cargill (Administrative Manager).

ee also

*Literary festival
*New England Review
*Writer

External links

* [http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/blwc/ Bread Loaf Writers' Conference]
* [http://www.middlebury.edu/administration/middmag/archive/2005/fall/features/stuff.htm Middlebury Alumni journal on Bread loaf]
* [http://www.slate.com/id/2069571/entry/2069635/ An account on what it's like to be a work-study scholar, a waiter, at Bread Loaf.]
* [http://www.rebeccamead.com/2001/2001_10_15_art_writer.htm New Yorker piece by Rebecca Mead on the conference and its history]
* [http://www.sevendaysvt.com/features/2005/adayintheloaf.html Bread Loaf profile in "Seven Days"--which elaborates on "The New Yorker" piece by Rebecca Mead]
* [http://www.boston.com/ae/books/blog/2007/08/a_literary_wait.html Interview in Boston Globe with former waiter Dr. Paul Austin]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6844804599292082571&q=%22wordloaf%22&total=1&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 Bread Loaf parody of "The Simpsons".]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bread Loaf Mountain (Vermont) — Infobox Mountain Name = Bread Loaf Mountain Photo = Bread Loaf Mountain from Otter Creek.jpg Caption = A distant view of Bread Loaf from the Otter Creek, April 2007 Elevation = convert|3835|ft|m|0 Prominence = convert|1430|ft|m|0|abbr=on Location …   Wikipedia

  • List of writers' conferences — This is a list of worldwide conferences for writers of all genres.Canada*Shuswap International Writers Festival Salmon Arm, British Columbia *Surrey International Writers Conference Surrey, British ColumbiaUnited States*Algonkian Writer… …   Wikipedia

  • MFA Program for Poets & Writers — The MFA Program for Poets Writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is a graduate creative writing program. HistoryThe MFA Program for Poets Writers was founded in the 1960s by poet Joseph Langland and is part of the English Department… …   Wikipedia

  • Middlebury College — Coordinates: 44°00′32″N 73°10′38″W / 44.00889°N 73.17722°W / 44.00889; 73.17722 …   Wikipedia

  • Michael Collier (poet) — Michael Robert Collier (born 1953) is an American poet, teacher, creative writing program administrator and editor. He has published five books of original poetry, a translation of Euripedes Medea, a book of prose pieces about poetry, and has… …   Wikipedia

  • John Ciardi — Born June 24, 1916(1916 06 24) Boston, United States of America Died March 30, 1986(1986 03 30) (aged 69) Metuchen, N.J., USA Occupation poet, teacher, etymologist, translator …   Wikipedia

  • New England Review — The New England Review Editor Stephen Donadio Categories Literary magazine Frequency Quarterly Publisher Middlebury College First issue Winter 1978 C …   Wikipedia

  • Robert Frost — This article is about the poet. For Robert Frost (disambiguation), see Robert Frost (disambiguation). Robert Frost Robert Frost (1941) …   Wikipedia

  • Craig Arnold — (November 16, 1967 – c. April 27, 2009) was an American poet and professor. His first book of poems, Shells (1999), was selected by W. S. Merwin for the Yale Series of Younger Poets.[1][2] His many honors include the 2005 Joseph Brodsky Rome… …   Wikipedia

  • Moe'N'a Lisa — The Simpsons episode The episode s promotional image featuring Michael Chabon, Jonathan Franzen, Tom Wolfe and Gore Vidal. Episode no. 384 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”