Writing and contests have been woven into the fabric of the Chautauquan literary arts scene for decades. “Writing contests are a time-honored American literary tradition and have been a fixture of the Chautauqua experience since the
Without stops, it is nearly a 14 hour drive from Oxford, Mississippi to Chautauqua, New York. Beth Ann Fennelly This is the drive Mississippi’s poet laureate Beth Ann Fennelly drove with her husband and three
This week’s Chautauqua Writers’ Center workshops will explore poetry in “nuts and bolts” and prose in “time and space.” Poet-in-residence Beth Ann Fennelly will teach “Sound, Syntax, Stanza, Magic, Nuts and Bolts” and prose writer-in-residence
Members of the Young Writers Institute are shown during a session with instructor Kim Henderson, second from right, during Week Three. The inaugural Young Writers’ Institute took place during Weeks One and Three, giving students
Alice Walker was 29 when she trekked through Florida in search of Zora Neale Hurston’s unmarked grave. The year was 1973. With her own money, Walker placed a grave marker with Hurston’s name on it
When readers of A Gentleman in Moscow enter the glamorous Metropol Hotel alongside the protagonist, they are not, like the book’s hero, in exile. Rather, they are escaping to a world of sleight of hands
When Robert Pinsky became the 39th United States poet laureate in 1997, he realized poetry had a problem. “There was kind of a feeling that poetry was just for academia and exclusive people and colleges,”
Russian artist and journalist Victoria Lomasko began work on publishing her book of graphic reportage, Other Russias, in 2014 as the Russian government passed laws limiting freedom of speech. “My work allows me to study
Ideally, Robert Ostrom would write poetry in the early morning with coffee and a notepad. But with a new baby, his sense of routine has flown out the window. Robert Ostrom Like coloring books designed
A troika is rolling into the Amphitheater. Instead of three horses, this Russian carriage contains a different threesome: “Love, Laughter and Vodka: A Night of Russian Fiction with Selected Shorts.” At 8:15 p.m. Monday, July
The Chautauqua Writers’ Center this week will delve into the past and the present. Week Four’s workshops include Robert Ostrom’s “Writing as a Practice for Living” and Valerie Boyd’s “Writing History: Making Research Come Alive
The Great American Picnic festivities and fundraiser return this year with the alliterative promise of food, face-painting, fortune-telling and fun. The annual event will be held from noon to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 15, on
When Carrie Bradshaw sits at her computer to type her next column, she is alone — accompanied solely by a cheery Manhattan and an ardent cigarette. Inspired by portrayals of writers in the media and
New York City’s skyline is constantly transforming; Victor LaValle’s just happens to include trolls and witches. Born and raised in Queens, LaValle said he finds the city’s metamorphosis magical. In the blink of an eye,
Rajiv Mohabir’s new puppy plays constantly. Even when approaching wasp nests, the puppy shows an excited curiosity. Her infinite playfulness reminded Mohabir why he loves writing. “She’s not yet afraid of the wasp nest that
This week, the Chautauqua Writers’ Center aims to transfigure scribes into wizards and workshops into playgrounds. The workshops this week will be held by poet-in-residence Rajiv Mohabir and prose writer-in-residence Megan Stielstra. Both writers will