I guess I’m pretty lucky that my husband feels the need to rejuvenate every winter in a warm sunny location. This year we plan to spend a few days in Key West, Florida, known for its fabulous sunsets and as the adopted home of literary giants Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams. But Key West also hosts an impressive literary event each January, the Key West Literary Seminar. What began as a library program to celebrate the literary history of Key West has since expanded to celebrate all types of literary genres and themes. This year’s genre was historical fiction, always a favorite of book clubs.
The keynote speaker at the 2009 seminar was Geraldine Brooks. Ms. Brooks has written several historical novels that have captured the attention of book clubs. Her most recent novel is People of the Book, a story that traces the journey of a rare illuminated manuscript. Inspired by a true story, this is an adventure that spans five decades. Ms. Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for March, a story she created based on the absent father from Luisa May Alcott’s Little Women. She based her character on the journals and letters of Alcott’s own father. Year of Wonders was Brooks’ first historical novel. In 1666 the plague had spread from London to a small village in England. This tale is told through the eyes of a young housemaid as she recounts the story of the plague year and how life was turned upside down by this.
Anchee Min was also a participant of the seminar this year. Best known for her memoir Red Azalea, the story of her childhood in communist China, Ms. Min has written a series of historical novels about Chinese women. In the Empress Orchid and The Last Empress Ms. Min has given us a fictionalized account of the life of Tzu-Hsi, often referred to as the ‘Dragon Lady’, who ruled China for four decades in the late 19th century. Both books combine history, culture and the female perspective to provide a fascinating look at women in Chinese history.
There were many other novelists of history present at this year’s seminar. Sena Jeter Naslund, Peter Matthiesen, winner of the 2008 National Book Award for Shadow Country, Joyce Carol Oates and Marilynne Robinson, to name a few. Next year’s theme will be poetry, with seven U.S. Poets Laureate already signed up. It sounds to me like Key West might be the perfect place to take an annual January vacation. What could be more fun than three days of sun, warm weather and a festival of literary greats? How about a road trip for your book club?
