7th International F. Scott Fitzgerald Conference
Vevey, Switzerland
June 27-July 3, 2004
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http://www.metrotravelguide.com/hotelinfo/Vevey/_/Switzerland/58665/
The F. Scott Fitzgerald Society will sponsor its 7th biennial international conference in Vevey, Switzerland, from Sunday, 27 June, to Saturday, 3 July 2004. Although there will be other hotels available—at various prices—the host for the conference will be the exquisite Hôtel des Trois Couronnes, which has recently been renovated to its original Old World splendor.
Don’t just take our word for it; others have fallen in love with its majestic splendor as well. In Daisy Miller: A Study, Henry James describes the unique ambiance of this location:
At the little town of Vevey, in Switzerland, there is a particularly comfortable hotel. There are, indeed, many hotels; for the entertainment of tourists is the business of the place, which, as many travelers will remember, is seated upon the edge of a remarkably blue lake—a lake that it behooves every tourist to visit. The shore of the lake presents an unbroken array of establishments of this order, of every category, from the “grand hotel” of the newest fashion, with a chalk-white front, a hundred balconies, and a dozen flags flying from its roof, to the little Swiss pension of an elder day, with its name inscribed in German-looking lettering upon a pink or yellow wall, and an awkward summer-house in the angle of the garden. One of the hotels at Vevey, however, is famous, even classical, being distinguished from many of its upstart neighbors by an air both of luxury and of maturity. . . . There are sights and sounds which evoke a vision, an echo of Newport and Saratoga. There is a flitting hither and thither of “Stylish” young girls, a rustling of muslin flounces, a rattle of dance-music in the morning hours, a sound of high-pitched voices at all times. You receive an impression of these things at the excellent inn of the “Trois Couronnes” and are transported in fancy to the Ocean House or to Congress Hall.
Besides the usual breakout sessions and guest speaker, the planning committee is also organizing several special events during the conference. On 27 June, there will be a daylong bus tour of the local area to begin the conference, which will be followed by a cocktail party on the terrace of the Hôtel des Trois-Couronnes, overlooking Lake Geneva. Included in this tour will be stops at Chillon Castle, which inspired Lord Byron’s “The Prisoner of Chillon,” Gruyeres, and Montreux. Other excursions being planned for the conference include visits to Prangins (see pictures) the Hotel de la Paix, the International Olympic Museum in Lausanne, and Caux Palace.
While the conference committee is planning a full schedule of special events, we are also setting aside free time so that participants can enjoy as much of the local ambiance as possible. Participants will have ample opportunity to see the sights and enjoy the special hospitality that has attracted two centuries of literati and the rich and famous to its unhurried locale.
An added feature to the conference is that the 38th Montreux Jazz Festival will begin on Friday, 2 July. The conference was specifically planned to coincide with the opening of the festival so that participants can enjoy the music that is deeply rooted in Fitzgerald’s work. For information about this jazz festival go to the following URL:
http://www.montreuxjazz.com/2004/e/default.htm.
The closing banquet will be on Saturday, 3 July, at the Hôtel des Trois Couronnes.
For information about the conference, contact James H. Meredith at 719. 333-8474 or James.Meredith@usafa.af.mil or the European Coordinator, Phillip McGown at p.mcgowan@gold.ac.uk.
Because this venue is so rich in literary interests, the conference committee has expanded its call for papers to include a wider range of topics than normal. The conference will not only focus on Fitzgerald and the importance of Switzerland to his life and works, his short fiction or Tender Is the Night, but will be interested in other literary topics as well, especially those that illuminate the sense of place that is uniquely Vevey. For example, the program could include film studies of Charlie Chaplin, who was a prominent citizen of Vevey, or comparative studies of Ernest Hemingway, who spent a considerable amount of time in the area during his Paris years, or Rousseau, who visited the area considerably, or, of course, Henry James or Lord Byron. Thematic issues, such as the literary depiction of continental hotel life, the Belle Époque, travel writings, the literature of Americans abroad, psychiatry in literature, Swiss neutrality in modernism, would also be considered. We’re looking for material that will illuminate what Switzerland, and the lake region in particular, did to fuel the literary imagination of F. Scott Fitzgerald and to shape his life. Contact Kim Moreland, moreland@gwu.edu, for more information about the program. Send abstracts of paper and panel proposals to her by 15 January 2004. Her regular mail address is:
Department of English
The George Washington University
Washington, DC 20052
(202) 994-6180
The preliminary program will be on the Fitzgerald Society web site by 1 March 2004, and acceptance letters will be sent to prospective participants soon thereafter. Registration material will be sent to Fitzgerald Society membership early in Feb. and pre-registration will take place between Feb. 15 and May 1, 2004.