Italy Craft Conference

2011 Photographs!

Click here to view photographs from the 2011 Johns Hopkins Conference on Craft.

Another Success in 2011!

The 2011 Hopkins Conference on Craft has concluded in Florence, Italy, with the traditional closing roundtable discussion and festive luncheon.

Novelist Jill McCorkle, biographer Brenda Wineapple, and poet Charles Martin led a wide-ranging discussion that began with how writers can use the intense Florence experience to inform their art. The discussion had to be ended nearly two hours later as it evolved into a debate about the role of money in creative writing and the often contradictory impact of the digital world. The discussion continued in the garden during the luncheon.

In the 12 days before these final moments, the 2011 conference participants enjoyed workshops and craft exercises that sometimes took them into the historic parts of the city. Special events included 1) a student reading that also turned ito a July 4 celebration with America-related readings, 2) faculty readings by each of the prominent writers on staff, and 3) one-on-one conferences for workshop participants.

Attending this year's conference were current students in the M.A. in Writing Program, program alumni, special outside writers, and an MFA student from The Writing Seminars at Hopkins.

Other highlights included various receptions, formal and informal. One was held at conference director David Everett's apartment, which just happened to overlook a piazza that one night featured a special free concert of Verdi and Tschaikovsky. More than a dozen conference participants avoided the thousands standing outside to sit in comfort and enjoy the music from the apartment windows. Conductor Zubin Mehta seemed not to mind.

The conference also included the Italy launch of program graduate Rae Bryant's new collection of short stories, plus special walking tours, museum visits, and the celebratory climb to the top of the Duomo.

Watch this space for photos and more reports from Florence 2011 and for news about the 2012 conference.

Ciao for 2011!