littoral | event coverage

A Writer’s Life is a Special Life

Photos by Nick Doll from the morning of Friday January 18, during the second session of the 2013 Key West Literary Seminar.

KWLS - Alexandra Styron-9170 — Alexandra Styron discussed her father, William Styron, and recounted the awkward experience of reading the sex scenes at the beginning of his great novel Sophie’s Choice as an elementary school student.

KWLS - Blake Bailey-9233 — Blake Bailey recounted the troubled lives of writers John Cheever, Richard Yates, and Charles Jackson. On why he has focused on writers with shared histories of alcoholic self-destruction, Bailey acknowledged being driven by the example of his own brother, who hanged himself in jail. “He’s the person I’m most like. I want to get to the bottom of it.”

KWLS - Day 2-9204 — Among the morning’s audience were Key West High School English teacher Kerri McLean and 16 seniors enrolled in her Advanced Placement English class.

KWLS - Day 2-9181 — KWLS board member, famed author, and anti-censorship advocate Judy Blume in the audience at the San Carlos Institute.

KWLS - Paul Mariani-9219 — Poet and biographer Paul Mariani read a selection from his work.

2 thoughts on “A Writer’s Life is a Special Life”

Lil says:

01/18/2013 at 11:52 pm

Favourite quote of today:
Paul Mariani is researching William Carlos Williams’ affairs. A woman contacts him and says, “I have a feeling that my real father is William Carlos Williams.” Without missing a beat, the moderator Claire Harman says, “Don’t we all.”

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Kerri says:

01/19/2013 at 4:50 pm

Thank you for the continued excellence of the KWLS. As a local educator, I am thrilled to have our students learn from such great minds. Above all, the generosity of the KWLS board in sponsoring our participation is incredible. Thank you all.

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Key West Literary Seminar welcomes readers and writers to this subtropical island city. Our flagship program is the annual Seminar, a four-day event that explores a unique literary theme each January, where readers from around the world enjoy presentations by some of the best writers of our time. In our Writers’ Workshop Program, also in January, writers of all levels meet in small groups with esteemed faculty to share their work and explore the craft of writing. A Scholarship Program reduces fees for teachers and librarians and recognizes the work of outstanding emerging writers. Exclusive recordings from the Seminar spanning thirty years are available in the Audio Archive, while our online journal, Littoral, features news, essays, photographs, and other resources that document Key West’s rich literary history.

A diversity of life thrives in the littoral zone — a thin strip of coastline between high and low watermarks. As the operating metaphor for our online journal, it refers to that part of Key West routinely overrun by the tide of literature and to the rich life of letters in this island city. Here you’ll find event coverage from our team of writers and photographers; news and updates about upcoming opportunities; and rare images from historic collections, interviews, and all manner of report from Key West’s life of letters.