The 57th annual Willa Cather Spring Conference and the one-day scholarly symposium preceding it will be focused on Cather the poet, on poetry, and on today's poets from the Great Plains region. Cather's close readers have long noted her sharp presentation of herself as prairie poet with "Prairie Spring" at the beginning of her "real" first novel, O Pioneers!, yet her actual first book, April Twilights (1903), and its contexts, have received much less critical attention. In much the same way, the scholarly edition of Cather's Poems, now in preparation, will be among the last volumes published in that series by the University of Nebraska Press.
Willa Cather Spring Conference & Scholarly Symposium
May 31 - June 2, 2012
Red Cloud, Nebraska
Willa Cather, Poet: Making Herself Born
Please CLICK HERE to register or become a sponsor.
A detailed schedule of events will be available at registration. Meals will be on your own Friday.
Thursday, Friday, & Saturday
Inspired by April Twilights Exhibit, Gallery
Portraits of the Prairie: The Land That Inspired Willa Cather Exhibit by Richard Schilling, Auditorium
Complimentary tours of Cather sites will be available to registrants at 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:00 p.m., Bookstore Thursday, May 31 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Registration, Bookstore 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Symposium, Presentation of scholarly papers by a diverse group of Cather scholars, Auditorium 5:00 p.m. Dinner on your own 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. "Pints & Notes," Burlington Depot
Friday, June 1 8:00- 5:00 p.m. Registration, Bookstore
10:15 a.m. -10:30 a.m. Welcome and Orientation with Robert Thacker, Auditorium
10:30 a.m. -10:45 a.m. Remarks by Thomas Reese Gallagher, Willa Cather Foundation Vice-President and Leslie Levy, Willa Cather Foundation Executive Director, Auditorium
10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. 26th Annual Presentation of the Norma Ross Walter Scholarship, Virgil Albertini, Auditorium
12:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m. Lunch on your own
1:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m. The Nebraska Presence Poets with Mary K. Stillwell, Auditorium
Simultaneous Activities:
3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Poetry Documentary: Louder Than A Bomb, Auditorium
3:45 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Nature in Cather's Poetry & Prairie Walk, Willa Cather Memorial Prairie
5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Dinner on your own
7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Artist Reception for April Twilights & Portraits of the Prairie Exhibits, Auditorium & Gallery
8:00 p.m. Sarah Harvey and Antonio Donofrio present . . .
"Singing Cather's Poems"
"L'Envoi" and "Evening Song" by Willa Cather set to original compositions, Auditorium
Saturday, June 2 8:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Kolache and coffee; Registration
8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Church service, Historic Grace Episcopal Church
10:00 a.m.-11:45 a.m. The Passing Show: "Willa Cather: Making Herself Born" with Mark Madigan and Robert Thacker, with a poetry reading by Lora Black from Nebraska Public Radio, Auditorium
12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. P.E.O. salad luncheon and introduction of the Board of Governors, Auditorium
1:20 p.m.-4:30 p.m. A variety of readings, discussions, and workshops will be led by Cather scholars. (A detailed schedule will be available at registration.)
6:00 p.m.-7:15 p.m. Banquet, Red Cloud Women's Chamber of Commerce, Auditorium
7:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m. The Apollon Theatre presents . . .
"Out of the Lips of Silence"
A movement and multi-media piece inspired by Willa Cather's poem "Prairie Spring," Auditorium
Call for Papers and Invitation to Participate
Willa Cather, Poet: Making Herself Born
The 2012 Spring Conference will be a lively celebration of poets and poetry on the Great Plains with readings and performances, discussions, and a "Passing Show" panel devoted to Cather as a writer who began as a poet and then established herself as a writer of prose both luminous and poetic. The one-day scholarly symposium preceding the conference (Thursday, May 31) will focus on Cather as an engaged fin de siècle poet-aesthete intent on making her mark in literature. Possible paper topics include:
• Cather and 19th Century Poetry and Poetics • Periodical Publication, the making of April Twilights • Cather, Poetry, and Pittsburgh • Cather and Housman or Other Comparisons • Cather's Poetry and McClure's Magazine • April Twilights as a Richard G. Badger Volume • Revising April Twilights into April Twilights and Other Poems (1923) • Cather and the Poetic Throughout the Fiction
Proposals, inquiries, and expressions of interest should be sent by February 15, 2012 to:
Robert Thacker Canadian Studies Program St. Lawrence University Canton, New York 13617
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The 57th annual Willa Cather Spring Conference and the one-day scholarly symposium preceding it will be focused on Cather the poet, on poetry, and on today's poets from the Great Plains region. Cather's close readers have long noted her sharp presentation of herself as prairie poet with "Prairie Spring" at the beginning of her "real" first novel, O Pioneers!, yet her actual first book, April Twilights (1903), and its contexts, have received much less critical attention. In much the same way, the scholarly edition of Cather's Poems, now in preparation, will be among the last volumes published in that series by the University of Nebraska Press.
