Writing Retreat for Military Veterans at Hemingway-Pfeiffer Gets Underway July 24-26
07/10/2015
PIGGOTT – In 1928, Ernest Hemingway penned portions of one of the most enduring war novels in American literature, A Farewell to Arms, at the home of his second wife Pauline Pfeiffer in Piggott, Arkansas.
During the weekend of July 24-26 (Friday through Sunday) Hemingway’s studio will transform into a site for an all-expenses paid weekend writing retreat for veterans. The retreat offers military veterans from or living in Arkansas the opportunity to work on personal creative writing, share their work, receive feedback and interact with others interested in writing.
Director of the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center (HPMEC) Adam Long said that in the writing retreat has been widespread. He is expecting a full house of veterans of all ages from around the state to attend.
Dr. Rob Lamm, director of English education at Arkansas State University, will serve as mentor for the retreat. Highlights of his career include serving as a visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame, directing the Northeast Arkansas Writing Project, editing the literary magazine Arkansas Anthology and mentoring writers’ retreats at the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Educational Center.
He presents on many subjects, including “Visual Arguments,” “Humor Writing,” “Writing Poetry” and other forms of creative writing. Wadsworth Publishers, Cengage Learning, published the second edition of his college-level textbook “Dynamic Argument.”
“This is our first retreat attended exclusively by veterans,” Lamm said. “In past retreats, we've had veterans of all ages and branches of the military.”
Lamm noted the visiting veterans will have an opportunity to work on projects they already started, saying, “Some are working on their experiences in the military, while others prefer to work on genres such as detective stories, science fiction, romance and others. We'll do some writing activities as warm ups at the start of each day. I won't overly direct them to write on a particular subject.”
“Some I hope, all of the writers will make progress on their projects or begin new projects. They will come closer to publication, if that is their goal.”
Writers' retreats are structured to be interactive with group activities, private writing time and mentoring. Not all writers come with something in mind to write, but many do. The retreat is structured to be interactive; craft is honed; creativity is enhanced; and veterans form friendships.
Lamm is looking forward to the event. “I enjoy working with individuals who are creative and productive. I make new friends, and I also learn much from them about life and writing. I share in the synergy of the group: we inspire each other to write better and more.”
Writers contribute stories, poems and essays to be published onsite in a spiral-bound souvenir anthology for each participant. For more information, email adamlong@astate.edu or call the museum at (870) 598-3487.
This retreat is held in partnership with the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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