Writers Complete Retreat at Hemingway-Pfeiffer
PIGGOTT — Eleven talented writers from five states came together to hone their skills and form a community in Northeast Arkansas at the 2017 Fall Writers’ Retreat. The retreat was at the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum & Educational Center (HPMEC) at the site where Ernest Hemingway penned much of his iconic novel A Farewell to Arms.
Fall Writers’ Retreat Participants include (from left) Fay Guinn of Jonesboro, Peter Donadio of Boston, Mass., Linda Wyss of Piggott, June Baker Jefferson of Fayetteville, Pat Carr, mentor, of Fayetteville, Mike Smith of Floral, Glenda Gabhart of Scottsville, Ky., Brenda Collier of Piggott, Pat Laster of Benton, Ginny Masullo of Fayetteville, Cole L.B. Benton Jr. of Springfield, Mo., and Patricia Moore of Sarasota, Fla.
Author Pat Carr served as mentor for the retreat. Carr, who has Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Rice University, and a Ph.D. from Tulane, has taught writing and literature in universities and workshops across the country. She has published 16 books, including The Women in the Mirror, winner of the prestigious Iowa Fiction Award, and Death of a Confederate Colonel, winner of both the PEN Southwest Fiction Award and John Estes Cooke Civil War Fiction Award.
She has had over 100 short stories published in The Southern Review and Best American Short Stories. Her most recent books are a memoir, One Page at a Time (2010), a how-to text, Writing Fiction with Pat Carr (2010), a novella, The Radiance of Fossils (2012), and a collection of short stories, The House on Prytania (2014).
Writers at the retreat began each day with a group session and discussed various aspects of the craft of writing. They had the opportunity to write on their own time around the grounds, including in Hemingway’s studio. They enjoyed lunch at the educational center and ended the afternoon with a group meeting to reflect, share and discuss the processes used by each writer. This format allowed writers time to focus on their own creative interests, to receive feedback on their work, and to form relationships with other writers.
Writers’ Retreats are held twice annually at the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum in Piggott. The next retreat is scheduled June 4-8, 2018. For more information, contact the museum at (870) 598-3487 or email museum director Adam Long at adamlong@AState.edu.
