TWS President’s Letter – March 28th
Dear Fellow Wolfeans:
I am pleased to share the registration details for our 45th Annual Meeting of the Thomas Wolfe Society in Durham, NC on May 31-June 1, 2024. Please use our TWS conference registration form. And now, without further ado, check out the AGENDA of the 2024 TWS CONFERENCE.
We are honored to welcome Clyde Edgerton, winner of the North Carolina Humanities Award for Literature, and Elizabeth Engelhardt, author of Boardinghouse Women, which examines the influence of the Old Kentucky Home on Wolfe’s life and works. The theme of our conference is “The Short Stories of Thomas Wolfe.”
Please return your registration information and banquet meal selection to Jodi Meisenberg’s home address listed below. Checks should be made to the Thomas Wolfe Society. If you cannot attend, please consider donating to the meeting to support our study of Wolfe. If you have any questions, please send me or Jodi an email or message.
The last date to book a room at the Downtown Marriott group rate is Wednesday, April 24. A hard copy of this registration with the program will be mailed this week.
Thank you and I hope to see you in Durham!
TWS President Ray Walker
walker30033@bellsouth.net
404-226-5026
TWS Vice-President Jodi Meisenberg
jodimeisenberg@aol.com
410-279-6999
35 Boone Trail, Severna Park, MD 21146
TWS President’s Letter – March 14th
Greetings Fellow Wolfeans!
The full agenda for this year’s conference will be added shortly.
If you haven’t renewed or signed up to the Thomas Wolfe Society, please use our TWS membership renewal form.
If you have already paid your 2024 TWS membership fee, thank you. Please consider becoming a Life member to support the Thomas Wolfe Society financially.
The theme of our 45th annual conference is “The Short Stories of Thomas Wolfe.” Tom’s short stories are a gateway to attract readers to his longer works.
Short stories tend to lead to excellent discussion opportunities. We look forward to your participation!
Ray Walker, TWS President
walker30033@bellsouth.net
404-226-5026
Jodi Meisenberg, TWS Vice-President
jodimeisenberg@aol.com
410-279-6999
2024 Thomas Wolfe Society Conference
The conference is Friday, May 31, 2024 through Saturday, June 1, 2024. Last day to book is Wednesday, April 24, 2024.
Hotel offering your special group rate:
Durham Marriott City Center for $179 USD per night.
Book your group rate for the Thomas Wolfe Society MAY 2024.
Conference Details
The TWS Membership Committee has identified around 15 universities in NC to invite to our conference. We will award registration to one student or faculty member with a strong interest in Wolfe from each institution to increase exposure.
Friday night will be open to the public to attend Clyde Edgerton’s address at our conference.
Clyde is a Guggenheim Fellow and has been honored with the North Carolina Award for Literature.
UNC’s Senior Associate Dean for Fine Arts and Humanities, Elizabeth Engelhardt, has recently published Boardinghouse Women.
At our Saturday evening banquet she will share the influence of Julia Wolfe and her boardinghouse on the works of Thomas Wolfe.
The 2024 TWS Conference will be held at the Durham Arts Council, which is located on the same block as the Durham Marriott City Center. Please visit their website, durhamarts.org for more information.
There will be a hard copy mailing before the Durham conference with the agenda around the middle of March.
Our conference is the highlight of the year for Wolfeans to gather, share and continue the scholarly study of the works and life of Thomas Wolfe.
We hope to see you in Durham!
Registration
Please register to guarantee your seat. Seating is limited.
Clyde Edgerton is the guest at the upcoming Thomas Wolfe Society Conference in Durham this spring. Read more at https://nclr.ecu.edu/2024/03/14/tws-conference-edgerton-hovis/.
Membership, Renewals and Donations
Visit our Membership / Renewals / Donations page for more information or click the “Donate” button below.
Conference Agenda
Friday, May 31, 2024
8:30-10:30 am Board of Directors Meeting, DAC (IBM Rehearsal Hall)
11:00-12:00 pm Registration
12:00-12:15 pm Welcome and Prologue
Welcome: Ray Walker, President, Thomas Wolfe Society
Prologue: Mary Aswell Doll, Savannah, Georgia
12:15-1:00 pm Session I (Moderator: Amélie Moisy, Universite Paris Est Creteil)
”Welcome to Our City”
Rev. Dr. Sam Miglarese, Duke University
Bob Powell, Presentation of Michael Deas’ commemorative painting to the TW Memorial
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1:00-1:20 pm Break (refreshments)
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1:20-2:40 pm Session II (Moderator: Austin Maynor, Waynesville, NC)
“Thomas Wolfe Short Story Book Club”
Jim Stokely, President, Wilma Dykeman Legacy: Weaverville, NC.
“What is a Short Story, Anyway? Thomas Wolfe and the Problem of Genre”
Joe Bentz, Azusa Pacific University
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2:40-3:00 pm Break (refreshments)
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3:00-4:30 pm Session III (Moderator: Amélie Moisy, Universite Paris Est Creteil)
“The Role of Extreme Situations in Shaping Thomas Wolfe”
Myna German, Delaware State University
“Artifacts from Aldo’s Attic: Highlights from the Aldo Magi Collection at UNC Wilson Library”
Christian Edwards , UNC Chapel Hill, Wilson Library
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4:30-7:30 pm Dinner on Your Own
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7:30-9:00 pm Introduction of Speaker: George Hovis, SUNY Oneonta, NY
An evening with Clyde Edgerton
Saturday, June 1, 2024
9:00-10:00 am Session IV (Moderator: Philip Lewis, Author and Attorney, Charlotte, NC)
“Not the Whole Glory of the Great Plantation of the Earth: The African American in Thomas Wolfe’s Short Fiction”
Joshua Cody Ward, UNC Chapel Hill
“Lynching Stories of Ralph Ellison and Thomas Wolfe”
Bob Powell, Berkeley, California
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10:00-10:30 am Business Meeting
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10:30-10:45 am Break
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10:45-11:50 am Session V (Moderator: James W. Clark, North Carolina State University)
“Literary Friendship of Thomas Wolfe and F Scott Fitzgerald”
Trish Foxwell- Charlottesville, VA
“The Narrator is the Story: Thomas Wolfe’s ‘Chickamauga’”
Terry Roberts, Asheville, NC
12:00-12:20 pm Final Words and Epilogue
Final Words: Ray Walker, President
Epilogue: Jan Hensley, Greensboro, NC
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12:30-6:00 pm Explore Durham/Lunch on your Own
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Saturday Evening, June 1, 2024
6:00 pm Books by Wolfe Society Authors Available for Sale and Signing
7:00 pm Banquet
Introduction of the Speaker; Cody Ward, UNC Chapel Hill
Boarding House Women by Elizabeth Engelhardt, Senior Associate Dean for Fine Arts & Humanities, UNC Chapel Hill
Conference Committee: Ray Walker, Jodi Meisenberg, George Hovis, Sam Miglarese, Cody Ward, Austin Maynor, Deborah Borland, Caroline Keizer, Martha Jennette, Colin Walker