RSVP to PLeder@txstate.edu by February 15th. Please indicate whether you plan to stay for dinner.

The Common Reading:

Snapshot of the book: Quincie, the motherless daughter of an itinerant muleskinner, is the captivating protagonist of this Depression-era novel set in the Texas oil patch. Her story’s value resides not only in the viewpoint of a young girl who comes of age in the shadow of the derricks but also in the currency of her creator’s sensitivity to the natural world and environmental issues. Originally a 1941 Houghton-Mifflin Literary Fellowship Book, Quincie Bolliver is an extraordinary study in character, place, and the community of women weak and strong.

Wittliff Collection

Schedule:
12-1 pm Lunch (provided) in the Supple room in Alkek Library at Texas State U San Marcos (campus map).
1-2 pm  A brief presentation by assistant curator Steve Davis on women writers in the Southwestern Writers Collection, and time to explore the Wittliff Collections, with an optional guided tour of the photography exhibit.
2-5 pm Discussion of Mary King’s Quincie Bolliver.
5:30pm Dinner at the Cool Mint Café. Each diner pays separately.

Getting there: Directions to the Alkek Library/Wittliff Collections

Parking: Free parking is available in the underground garage next to the Alkek Library (#2, Alkek Garage on the map).The Talbot street entrance will be open; the other entrance requires a gate card. Follow this link for more information about parking.

Accommodations:

The Embassy Suites Conference Hotel and Spa (512-392-6451) offers a group discount rate of $134 for Texas State events. When you call give them the
group code TSU.  If you’re reserving on line, put in the corporate code 000 265 9859. $134 is a considerable discount for this luxury hotel near the
Outlet Malls.
The Holiday Inn Express (512-754-6621) is closer to campus (but not walking distance), and charges $119 per night on weekends.
The very pretty Crystal River Inn Bed and Breakfast (888-396-3739) has a few rooms left at $120-145; they offer a 10% discount for guests attending Texas State events. They’re a 12-minute walk to the library and just a few blocks from the Cool Mint café.
Other accommodations are available, but book early! San Marcos fills up on the weekends with mall shoppers and visiting parents.

February 2011 at the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, OK, hosted by Laura Stevens. The common reading was Mercy Otis Warren: Selected Letters (U Georgia P) and one of the editors of the edition, Jeffrey Richards, was a special guest participant.

October 2010 at Austin College, hosted by Randi Tanglen. The topic was “Teaching American Indian Women Writers” and included selections from Kilcup’s Native American Women’s Writing, c. 1800-1924; Bross and Wyss’s Early Native Literacies in New England: A Documentary and Critical Anthology; among other readings.

February 2010 at University of Texas Austin, hosted by Gretchen Murphy. The common text was Leonora Sansay’s Secret History; or, The Horrors of St. Domingo and Laura (Broadview 2007); Michael Drexler, editor of the edition, was a special guest participant.

March 2009 at University of Texas Arlington, hosted by Desiree Henderson. The common text was Jesse Alemán and Shelley Streeby, eds., Empire and the Literature of Sensation: An Anthology of Nineteenth-Century Popular Fiction (Rutgers, 2007), from which we read: The Female Warrior (1843) and Mary Denison’s The Prisoner of La Vintresse (1860). Jesse Alemán was a special guest participant.

November 2008 at Texas Christian University, hosted by Theresa Gaul. The common text was Elizabeth Stoddard’s Two Men (U Nebraska, 2008). Jennifer Putzi, editor of the edition, was a special guest participant.