Key West Literary Seminar –Session I- Part II

January 14, 2009

Gore Vidal



Peter Matthiessen

Key West Literary Seminar –Session I- Part II



The seminar offers a wonderful opportunity to not only hear writers give readings and presentations, but over the course of a weekend there is ample opportunity for participants to interact on a much more personal level with the authors. The number of attendees is limited to the capacity of the San Carlos and this ensures that there is never any overcrowding and that everyone has plenty of chances to ask questions and participate in discussions.





It really is much better in that there are far fewer of what I like to call the “crazed questioner” than at events such as the Miami Book Fair. The crazed questioner is the person who gets up and asks questions that are invariably about themselves or some agenda and often have little or nothing to do with the topic. They drive me crazy and it is refreshing to find very few if any in the intelligent and literate crowd in attendance at the Key West Literary Seminar.



The highlight of the first session was the John Malcolm Brinnin Memorial which this year featured Gore Vidal in conversation with Jay Parini. Vidal’s reputation as an irascible cuss preceded his appearance and his interactions at seminar functions prior to his presentation did nothing to disprove it. It was with some trepidation that I joined Arlo and a crew of volunteers to assist Mr. Vidal in getting on stage at the San Carlos, which lacks a ramp.

Waiting backstage for Mr. Vidal

The Green Room

View from the Stage



All our worries were quickly allayed as Mr. Vidal proved to be the consummate professional in arriving to deliver a wonderful performance that had his full repertoire of biting wit and intelligent observation on display. It was a remarkable evening. Afterwards, he even joined the crowd at a champagne reception at The Custom’s House, where he calmly received accolades from the assembled throngs. It was a sight to behold.

Gore Vidal & Peter Matthiessen



CSPAN Book TV control room

The Customs House is featuring a wonderful art exhibit from the wonderful local artist John Martini who is well known for his immense metal sculptures that are found throughout Key West. It is a show that is well worth checking out if you get a chance.







Round one of the seminar wrapped up with yet another wonderful party, this time at the beautiful home of John Padget. Home is really an insufficient term to describe the wonderful compound which actually consists of four houses and the beautiful pool and garden that is their shared backyard. It was a fantastic party and a wonderful way to close out the first weekend of the seminar.





Libby York

Historical Fiction and the Search for Truth: Part 1

January 13, 2009





Historical Fiction and the Search for Truth: Part 1

Doug, Emily, Bob, Michael & Margaret

The Key West Literary Seminar is one of the preeminent literary events in the United States and I have been fortunate enough to be an attendee for the past 14 consecutive seminars, each of which has been a remarkable assemblage of many of the finest writers in the world. This year is slightly different, for me at least as I have had the honor of being selected to work in an official capacity for the seminar replacing long-time friend and Volunteer Coordinator extraordinaire, Bob Muens who sadly has relocated to Washington DC.





Bob returned this year for one final go round and graciously offered to train me during the first of two seminar sessions this year, Kathy & I are once again signed up for the second session. Seeing the workings of the seminar from the inside has been an interesting experience. It is an incredible undertaking, handled with seemingly flawless aplomb by Executive Director Miles Frieden, the staff, Board of Directors and many wonderful volunteers.



Snow & Christopher

Allan Gurganus, John Wray & Arlo Haskell

This year the first session brought a wonderful collection of writers and historians to Key West that included, Geraldine Brooks, Barry Unsworth, Ursala Hegi, John Wray, Allan Gurganus, Peter Ho Davies, Jane Kamensky, Alan Cheuse, Megan Marshall, David Levering Lewis, Sena Jeter Naslund, Jill Lepore, Eric Foner, Patricia O’Toole, Michael Meeropol, Ivy Meeropol & Peter Matthiesssen. There was also a special appearance by the legendary writer Gore Vidal in conversation with Jay Parini.

Doug & Emily with Robert Richardson

Eric Foner

Alex, Doug, Emily, Bob & Margaret

The long weekend of the seminar is filled with wonderful readings and lecture, panel discussions and lavish parties, dinners and receptions for both the participants and the authors. One advantage of being a seminar insider is getting invited to the many behind the scenes parties for the writers and board members that are not open to the public. Of course the disadvantage is that it is a lot of work and surprisingly very exhaustive.

Melody Cooper on the soundboard.

Geraldine Brooks & Hilma Wolitzer

Bob, Kathy, Bill, Ashley & Emily

The seminar is so in depth and involved that I have enough photos for two blog postings so I am going to stretch this out. Of course, it is not really possible to capture the excitement; though Arlo Haskell comes very close in his Seminar blog, Littoral- where you can also listen to some of the sessions.

Nick, Arlo & Mark

Michael Shields & David Wolkowsky

Monica Haskell, Eric Holowacz & Curt Richter

One of the highlights for me was scoring an invite to a party hosted by a Key West legend, David Wolkowsky. The party was held at his rooftop apartment atop of Fast Buck Freddie’s under a beautiful full moon. There was a plethora of the Key West glitterati present as well as many of the seminar writers including the feisty presence of Gore Vidal. Even Carrie Newcomer, who we had seen perform at The Studios of Key West earlier in the week was there. It was tremendous fun and would have been even if no one had been there as the apartment is like a quirky museum full of interesting treasures.

David's bird display

Kathy & Ashley

Kathy, John & Jenny

KWLS Blog

Seasonal Apex

January 12, 2009

Carrie Newcomer

San Carlos Institute

Seasonal Apex

Lyn & Bob

January is the height of the season in Key West, both in terms of the amount of people here, but also a cultural pinnacle in that there is an incredible selection of activities and functions that it impossible to be able to attend them all. Just how much fun can one have? Kathy & I give it a decent effort though as we navigate the full calendar, trying to select things that interest us and that we will enjoy.





Haven, Ashley, Elena, Holly, Craig & Kathy

There is probably nothing that we enjoy more than live music and we were fortunate to be able to attend the second performance in the new Old Town/ New Folk music series by Bloomington, Indiana based singer/songwriter Carrie Newcomer. Despite my Hoosier heritage, I was not that familiar with Carrie, but the show was amazing. Her clear voice, wonderful crafted lyrics and terrific sense of humor made for a fantastic night. I have included a brief video of Carrie performing so that you can get a sense of her style, though you really need to see her in person for a true appreciation.



We got a chance to meet Carrie & her husband later at one of the parties for the Key West Literary Seminar and they were both as charming and interesting in person as she was during her performance. We are hopeful that we will get a chance to see her performs again sometime soon. Kudos to everyone involved in the wonderful music series at the Studios, we can’t wait for the next show.

Martha, Kathy, Celia & Ashley

Speaking of the Key West Literary Seminar, this year marks the 27th annual celebration of the written word here in Key West. The seminar theme this year is Historical Fiction and the Search for Truth. Once again, there are two weekend sessions that sandwich a week of workshops by many of the best writers in America. I have been an attendee of the seminar for 14 years and will be again this year (for session 2), but I have also accepted the position of Volunteer Coordinator for the seminar.





My friend Bob Muens, has officially moved to Washington DC and this will be his final year as Volunteer coordinator. He graciously offered to help train me during the initial seminar and so I have been busy in this new role working with Bob and all of the wonderful volunteers he has assembled for the seminar.



The seminar is held in the beautiful and historic San Carlos Institute on Duval Street. This building is a cultural Mecca to anyone of Cuban ancestry due to its significance in Cuban history. It was at the San Carlos that Jose Marti united the Cuban exile community in 1892 to start the campaign for Cuba’s independence.



Finally, in addition to all the events surrounding the seminar, in one of those surreal only in Key West sort of experiences, Kathy & I attended a viewing party for the appearance of our friends Jim & Joanna Cooper in the ABC TV program, “Wife Swap.” The episode aired last month in most of the country, but was pre-empted in South Florida for a Billy Graham crusade necessitating the special showing for their Key West friends.

Joanna & Andreas

The show involves mothers trading spots for two weeks with counterparts from some other, very different location. Joanna switched spots with a woman from Utah whose family’s primary function in life was “sweeping”, a lifestyle dominated by entering contests and sweepstakes.

Kathy, Jamie & Amy

Joanna & Shawnna

The Cooper family, Key West and the laid back lifestyle that many of us lead came off very well, especially in comparison to the sad, almost tragic existence of the other family. In addition to the many laughs the show provided, there were a few touching moments that transcended the manufactured nature of the show. Congrats to Jim & Joanna for making us look good- we are proud to know you guys.

Jim & Joanna

The Cooper mobile



ABC's Wife Swap

San Carlos Institute

Carrie Newcomer