WORKSHOP FOR WRITERS

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 June 1937, Page 12

WORKSHOP FOR WRITERS

‘ PULP STORY PARLEY SEQUEL. What began as a regional conference of writers of Western stories for pulp magazines has grown into a Summer workshop of the novel, verse amUplaiwriting with anywhere from 100 to 150 writers spending three weeks of midsummer at Boulder, Colo. Edward Dhvison, English poet -and head of the English department at the University of Colorado, has come East to select his staff for this Summer’s session, from July 26 to August 13. Among the authors who have already agreed to work with students this year are Evelyn Scott, Sherwood Anderson. Whit Burnett. John Crow Ranson and John Beale Bishop (says the “Christian Science Monitor’ “We never attempt teaching anyone to write.’’ Mr Davison explains, outlining the origin of the conference. and its development into a selfsupporting venture of sufficient strength to be able to award several annual scholarships. “But we have believed that bringing writers together. in pleasant, harmonious surroundings, stimulates the flow oi ideas, and the. opportunity for an interchange of ideas is the most valuable thing in the world io place before writers.

“1 think we shall probably have 160 or more writers at the conference this year. I look on it as particularly useful to writers who live in small towns, for there is a way in which small-town life can repress writers, and getting to such a conference as ours for two or three weeks gives them a chance io stretch themselves, and discuss their problems freely. Many tt story that was till locked up tight inside the author has taken shape and coherence under the stimulation of a chance IO talk about it with a kindred thinker.” Dr. Davison was born in Cambridge. Eng., and has been in the United States for nearly 12 years. He was associate professor of English at Vassar College before going to the University of Colorado. He married Miss Bathalie E. Weiner of Now York, and has taken out first papers for American citizenship. "The otiginal idea was was these writers of what we know as -westerns’ would come together at Boulder and operate the group as a Summer encampment. This will be its eighth year. For a while the university looked out for it, and two years afo I looked out for it. and two years ago I self. Robert Frost, Thomas Wolfe, T. S. Stribling and many others have been with us in successive seasons to conduct discussion groups. "We have various workshops groups, in the short story, in poetry, in play-writing and in the novel. Our evenings are given up io lectures by j visiting authors of experience and reputation, and we have daily roundtable discussions. We maintain a manuscript bureau, and it is the privilege of students to submit manuscripts to the bureau before the conference opens, so that, when he gets there, his manuscripts will have been reviewed by competent judges who can then give- him an opinion com-

parable to the judgment of a publisher’s reader. The conference does not market manuscripts, hut we have brought many first-class manuscripts to the attention of publishers. "I think the conference staff has one excellent peculiarity: we don't angle for ‘big names,’ with the idea that thi‘ conference isn’t able to attract students on its own merits. We do angle to invito people to join tho staff who have made a reputation fori an ability to do their jobs well, and j who, we believe, will be able to make 1

their professional experience and advice intelligible to those who want to learn.’’ •