AS A BOY, dreaming of becoming a writer himself someday, Fitzgerald came downtown to visit the Saint Paul Library and to see plays in the theaters along Wabasha. The plays made such a powerful impression on him that he could remember whole scenes from them years later. We hope the Literature Festival will make this sort of lasting impression on your students.
The Fitzgerald Committee Page Cowles
Garrison Keillor
Polly Nyberg
Paul Verret
Introduction
The Literature Festival is the heart of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 100th birthday celebration, when busloads of young writers and students who love literature will come to downtown Saint Paul for a day of workshops, gatherings and general festivity. This day has been designed especially for the students, to recognize their good work and enthusiasm, and to inspire them to go on to greater things. The event has been enthusiastically endorsed by educators, teachers, and by the Minneapolis and Saint Paul public school district superintendents.
The students will interact with writers from Minnesota and well-known visiting authors and historians including:
Joseph Heller (Catch-22)
Jane Smiley (Moo, A Thousand Acres)
Donald Hall (Ox-Cart Man, The Farm Summer 1942)
Tobias Wolff (In the Garden of the North American Martyrs)
Scott Donaldson (Fool For Love: F. Scott Fitzgerald)
Bobbie Ann Mason (In Country, Feather Crowns)
Patricia Hampl (Spillville, Burning Bright) and
Michael Dorris (A Yellow Raft in Blue Water)
Locations and Activities
The day's events will take place in Landmark Center, Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Rice Park, The Saint Paul Hotel, and other sites within easy walking distance of each other. A welcoming assembly at Roy Wilkins Auditorium will orient everyone before going off to morning sessions, both smaller informal ones and larger structured assemblies. At noon, students can enjoy a box lunch and attend the United States Postal Service ceremony for the first-day issue of the Fitzgerald commemorative stamp. After lunch there will be two sessions and a gathering in Rice Park and on Fifth Street (closed for the occasion) for a ceremony to lift the canvas off a life-size Michael B. Price sculpture of Fitzgerald.
Writer's Fair
Through much of the day, a Writers' Fair will exhibit for sale the wares of local publishers, booksellers and students. Booths at the Writers' Fair are free to students and available at a minimal charge for booksellers and publishers.
Registration
Registration cost is $10 for general public and $5 for high school and college students. Price includes a box lunch.
TO REGISTER, send the following information, with payment, to: F. Scott Fitzgerald's 100th Birthday, 141 South Seventh Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402. Make checks payable to Fitzgerald's 100th.
Registration is for:
( ) College/University delegation
( ) High school delegation (primarily 11th and 12th graders)
( ) Individual/Organization
Number registering at $5: __
Number registering at $10: __
Total enclosed: $ ___
Contact name, address, city, state, and ZIP; contact day and evening telephone;
School name, address, city, state, and ZIP; school telephone
FOR MORE INFORMATION contact: F. Scott Fitzgerald's 100th birthday Writers' Fair, 141 South 7th Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402.
