October 5-7, 2018, Petoskey, Michigan
"Hemingway and WWI"
The theme for October’s conference this year is influenced by 2018 being the centennial of Hemingway’s return from World War I, where he was wounded on the delta of the Piave River in Italy and then hospitalized in Milan.
Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Verna Kale, Assistant Research Professor in English at the Pennsylvania State University. She will speak to us Saturday evening on "Changing Landscapes: Hemingway, Michigan, and the Great War." Dr Kale is an Associate Editor of the Cambridge edition of The Letters of Ernest Hemingway. She has published a critical biography, Ernest Hemingway, and serves on the board of directors of the Hemingway Society, the advisory board of the Hemingway Review, and is a co-administrator of the Hemingway Soceity Facebook page.
We will open on Friday, October 5, with a reception at the Terrace Inn, followed by welcome remarks from president Chris Struble and a kick-off program featuring John Cohassey, historian and author of Hemingway and Pound: A Most Unlikely Friendship as well as several other interesting books and articles.
John will share with us his latest research and conclusions on an important aspect of Hemingway’s background in his paper entitled “Distant Guns, Remembered Words: Hemingway and the American Civil War.” He will explore for us the fascinating path of influence from one major war to the next, in which young Hemingway would feel compelled to participate.
Saturday’s breakfast will be at the Terrace Inn as well, and will be followed by a panel discussion on “Michigan as Rehabilitation,” focusing on Hemingway’s reasons for returning Up North to recover from his wounds, both physical and mental.
Lunch will be offered (but not included in the registration fee) at the Terrace Inn, so participants may go elsewhere if desired, depending upon their choice of Saturday afternoon activities. Some events on offer will be:
- Tours of Bay View featuring WWI memorabilia
- George Colburn’s documentary Young Hemingway & His Enduring Eden
- Self-guided tours of the historic Hemingway plaques in Petoskey, especially the new statue of young Hemingway
- Self-guided driving tours to Horton’s Bay, Greensky Church, etc.
Saturday evening’s banquet will be preceded by a presentation of the newest historic Hemingway Tour plaques and followed by Dr. Kale's keynote address.
After Sunday breakfast at the Terrace Inn, we will have our annual general membership meeting and reports from the board of directors. A new and fun event will be a rousing game of "Hemingway Jeopardy," hosted by Susan Lightcap and Diane Fox. Choose your table/team-mates with care for this fun event.
Plans are underway to offer an outing to Pigeon River Forest as our Sunday afternoon option (no extra charge). A return visit is in order, as the CCC building there has been saved from the bulldozer and made into a Hemingway history center. Participants will be asked to bring Hemingway-related books they can donate to help supply the shelves there. Pigeon River is also one of the new Historic Hemingway Plaque locations.
Watch for e-blasts announcing updates to the program and to the website as the plans for another great weekend in Northern Michigan firm up.
The Terrace Inn in the Northern Michigan Chautauqua community of Bay View will once again be our conference headquarters. All rooms at The Terrace Inn are blocked for our conference until September 27th. Reservations must be made by calling 231-347-2410 or emailing info@theterraceinn.com, mentioning your reservation is for the Michigan Hemingway Society conference in October. Very reasonable room rates range from $129 to $189 (plus 5% hotel tax.) There is a special discounted rate of $99 for your room on the Thursday night prior to, and/or the Sunday night following, the conference. Call early to assure your reservation for one of the 38 quaint rooms available in this historic hotel that was built in 1910.
If you are not a member of the Michigan Hemingway Society for the 2018 calendar year you may join online now and your conference fee will be reduced by $40.
A student scholarship is available to help pay for expenses to attend the MHS conference, see details at the Coté Scholarship webpage.
We hope to see you Up North in October for another enjoyable weekend with friends who share an interest in Hemingway and in the environment that so significantly influenced him and his writings.