By Kaitlin Andorfer
Sixty-five years after his death, scholars from all over the world gathered for the eighth International F. Scott Fitzgerald Conference to discuss the author’s literary works as well as local geographical sites related to his stories.
The conference, “F. Scott Fitzgerald in Long Island and New York,” sponsored by the Cultural Center and the F. Scott Fitzgerald Society, highlighted international speakers and off-campus excursions to places featured in discussions. Participants explored sites connected with Fitzgerald’s novels, primarily “The Great Gatsby,” as well as landmarks associated with Fitzgerald’s residency both on Long Island and in New York City.
The Long Island tour featured the home of Fitzgerald and Ring Lardner. On the Saturday afternoon tour in New York City, participants had a chance to visit Scribner’s Publishing, St. Patrick’s Cathedral where Fitzgerald was married, the Plaza Hotel and Columbus Circle, which was featured in Fitzgerald’s “May Day.”
The conference also marked the 15th anniversary of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Society, an international organization founded and based at the University. Ruth Prigozy, English professor and co-founder of the society, said it was formed in 1990 because there was no organization devoted to Fitzgerald as there were to other “lesser” writers.
“We meet at conferences alternate years – one year abroad, and two years later in the United States,” Prigozy said. “We have met in Paris, Nice, Vevey, St. Paul, Asheville and of course, twice at Hofstra.”
In addition to various panel discussions focusing on different aspects of Fitzgerald’s, “The Great Gatsby,” other topics included essays, such as, “Neglected Stories,” “Manhattan Modernism,” Fitzgerald and New York: The City as Setting, Saints, Suffers and Mercenaries in “Tender is the Night” and Sociology and Place in “The Beautiful and the Damned.”
A banquet was also held featuring Frances Kroll Ring, Fitzgerald’s secretary who helped him write his final novel, “The Love of the Last Tycoon” and Charles Scribner III, who discussed Fitzgerald and his publisher, Scribner’s Publishing.
“I thought the conference went very well – the attendance was excellent, and the guest speakers, Frances Kroll Ring and Charles Scribner III were very moving,” Prigozy said.
“This is seriously something I’m going to remember long after I graduate,” said Robyn Gertner, a sophomore English major who attended the banquet. “Everything was incredible and amazing. The speakers weren’t dry and boring, they were funny and honest.”
Students tour Fiitzgerald´s estate, which continues to stand just like his legacy. (photo courtesy Robyn Gertner)
