The deadline to register for the 4th Biennial John Updike Society Conference in Columbia, South Carolina, October 12-15, 2016, is fast approaching. Registration is $150 and increases to $185 after September 1, but members and others are encouraged to make that deadline to enable conference director Don Greiner and host University of South Carolina Libraries to finalize conference plans.

Here is the registration form: THE 4TH BIENNIAL JOHN UPDIKE SOCIETY CONFERENCE

It’s all very convenient and compact, with the conference held on the campus of the University of South Carolina, the Inn at the University of South Carolina serving as the official conference hotel, and the bar of that hotel open for conference attendees Thursday through Saturday.

Here is the updated conference schedule, including paper titles and names of presenters:  4th JUS Conference Schedule (updated)

Conference highlights:

• Keynote address by Garrison Keillor, of A Prairie Home Companion fame (Mr. Keillor says he’s eager to hear what Updike scholars have to say)
• Inaugural Rabbit Open golf tournament (optional/all skill levels welcome)
• Book-length catalogue of the Don and Ellen Greiner Updike Collection (free to all attendees)
• Broadside featuring a comment about Updike by Keillor, suitable for framing (and autographing)
• Major Updike exhibit (16 cases) of typescripts, inscriptions, broadsides, limited editions, two love poems Updike wrote at age 10, etc.
• Special presentation by two of Updike’s children, Miranda and David Updike
• Opportunity to examine rare and seldom displayed 19th and 20th century American literature artifacts and literary items (Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Hawthorne, Melville, Howells, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, Joyce, Heller, etc.)
• Plenary talk on Updike collections by Leslie Morris (Houghton Library) and Elizabeth Sudduth (USC Libraries)
• DVD presentation of Updike delivering his controversial talk “On Literary Biography” at USC
• Tour of Civil War sites like the State House (pictured above) and the USC “Horseshoe,” which Gen. Sherman spared on his march through the South because the campus buildings were being used as a hospital for both sides; the South Caroliniana Library (pictured below), on the Horseshoe, was built in 1840 and was the first freestanding college library in the nation.
• Slideshow presentation on the location of the 5th John Updike Society Biennial Conference in June 2018, with keynote speaker also announced.

Though attendees must be members of the society, all are welcome to join and experience this celebration of manuscripts, research, and special collections, with a focus on John Updike.

Registration is now open for the 4th Biennial John Updike Society Conference October 12-15, 2016, celebrating manuscripts, research, and special collections and hosted by the University of South Carolina Libraries in  Columbia, S.C. It will be the first chance that society members have to see the Don and Ellen Greiner Updike Collection. Greiner is serving as conference director, and the conference hotel is The Inn at USC Wyndham Garden, right on USC’s campus.

Conference highlights:

• Keynote address by Garrison Keillor, of A Prairie Home Companion fame
• Inaugural Rabbit Open golf tournament (optional/all skill levels welcome)
• Book-length catalogue of the Don and Ellen Greiner Updike Collection (free to all attendees)
• Broadside featuring a comment about Updike by Keillor, suitable for framing (and autographing)
• Major Updike exhibit (16 cases) of typescripts, inscriptions, broadsides, limited editions, two love poems Updike wrote at age 10, etc.
• Special presentation by two of Updike’s children, Miranda and David Updike
• Opportunity to examine rare and seldom displayed 19th and 20th century American literature artifacts and literary items (Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Hawthorne, Melville, Howells, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, Joyce, Heller, etc.)
• Plenary talk on Updike collections by Leslie Morris (Houghton Library) and Elizabeth Sudduth (USC Libraries)
• DVD presentation of Updike delivering his controversial talk “On Literary Biography” at USC
• Tour of Civil War sites like the State House (pictured above) and the USC “Horseshoe,” which Gen. Sherman spared on his march through the South because the campus buildings were being used as a hospital for both sides; the South Caroliniana Library (pictured below), on the Horseshoe, was built in 1840 and was the first freestanding college library in the nation

Though attendees must be members of the society, all are welcome to join and experience this celebration of manuscripts, research, and special collections, with a focus on John Updike.  Click on the link below to download a draft of the program and all registration and hotel information:

THE 4TH BIENNIAL JOHN UPDIKE SOCIETY CONFERENCE

The John Updike Society is now accepting proposals for papers to be presented at the Fourth Biennial John Updike Society Conference at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, October 12-15, 2016.

We welcome one-page proposals for 15-20 minute papers on all aspects of Updike’s life and work, but especially seek:

—Proposals on humor in John Updike’s poetry and prose, since the conference keynote speaker will be noted humorist and author Garrison Keillor, host of The Writer’s Almanac and longtime host of NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion.

—Proposals on Updike works celebrating a milestone anniversary in 2016: The Music School (50th), Marry Me: A Romance (40th), Roger’s Version (30th), In the Beauty of the Lilies (20th), and Terrorist (10th).

—Proposals for essays of textual criticism that draw heavily upon original manuscripts and sources, since the conference celebrates special collections and scholarship.

Deadline:  June 15, 2016

The Fourth Biennial John Updike Society Conference celebrates the newest addition to the Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library: The Don and Ellen Greiner Collection of John Updike. The Hollings Library also holds major research collections on F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway (including early books signed to each other), Joseph Heller (including the typewriter he used to write Catch-22), Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, John Hawkes, Frederick Busch, James Elroy, James Dickey, George V. Higgins, Elmore Leonard, Pat Conroy, Robert Burns, John Milton, and Charles Darwin. It was at the University of South Carolina that Updike delivered his now-famous treatise “On Literary Biography.” Those who have papers accepted are encouraged to make time for additional onsite research. Conference highlights:

—Garrison Keillor (A Prairie Home Companion) will deliver the keynote address

—Two of Updike’s children will present slides he took of the family over several decades

—Leslie Morris (Houghton Library) and Elizabeth Sudduth (USC Libraries) will talk about their Updike collections

—Attendees will receive a copy of the book-length catalog of the Greiner JU collection

—A special video presentation of Updike’s talk on literary biography will be featured

—Attendees will tour Civil War sites like the State House and the USC “Horseshoe,” which Gen. Sherman spared on his march through the South because the campus buildings were being used as a hospital for both sides

Send proposal and a brief one- or two-paragraph bio to:  Program director Don Greiner: dgreiner@sc.rr.com

Successful proposals will be acknowledged within two weeks of receipt. To present a paper or moderate a panel at the conference, participants must be members of the John Updike Society and register for the conference. For membership information, see the Society’s website at https://blogs.iwu.edu/johnupdikesociety/join. Those who have papers accepted can join when they register for the conference. Registration information will be forthcoming.

The conference hotel will be the Inn at USC Wyndham Garden Columbia (pictured), an elegant boutique hotel located right on the campus of the University of South Carolina in the heart of downtown Columbia. More information is forthcoming with the registration announcement, but if you are in a hurry to book a room make sure you mention The John Updike Society to get the block discount.

Call for Papers 4

At the membership meeting, John Updike Society president Jim Plath announced that the board had unanimously approved South Carolina as the site of the 4th Biennial John Updike Society Conference, which will be held October 13-15, 2016 in Columbia, hosted by The University of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina Libraries. All sessions will be held in the Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library, where the Don and Ellen Greiner Collection of John Updike will be showcased. It’s a modern state-of-the-art facility located at the center of campus, within easy walking distance from both conference hotels.

Don Greiner will serve as program director, and Ward Briggs as site director. Both are professors emeritus at USC, and have worked together on a previous conference.

For the occasion, the Hollings Library will mount a major Updike exhibit that will include letters, typescripts, and galley proofs, as well as such rare and seldom seen items as inscribed copies of Updike’s Phi Beta Kappa poem, his lecture “The Future of the Novel,” and his lecture “Freedom and Equality.” Inscribed first editions and numerous rare broadsides as well as proof copies of limited signed editions will also be displayed in 14 cases. It’s not carved in stone, but the goal is to give each attendee a copy of a professionally produced catalogue of the extensive Donald and Ellen Greiner Collection of John Updike, as well as a limited edition broadside.

“At the first three conferences we celebrated the importance of place in John Updike’s literary world,” Plath said. “In South Carolina we’ll celebrate the manuscripts and books.”

Many in the society have published in other areas, and the rare book curators will welcome members who wish to engage in research either immediately prior to or following the conference. In addition to the Greiner collection, the Hollings Library holds major research collections on F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway (including early books signed to each other), Joseph Heller (including the typewriter he used to write Catch-22), Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Joseph Heller, John Hawkes, Frederick Busch, James Elroy, James Dickey, George V. Higgins, Elmore Leonard, Pat Conroy, Robert Burns, John Milton, and Charles Darwin. For further holdings follow this link.

Though there won’t be the usual amount of Updike sites to tour, Updike did in fact visit the University of South Carolina once—to deliver his now famous treatise “On Literary Biography.” For those who enjoy Updike’s favorite sport, Columbia is a golf mecca, and member Joseph McDade will put together a Rabbit Open best-ball scramble tournament for those who arrive early.

The campus dates from 1801 and has an interesting history, according to Greiner. The university buildings were the only ones spared when General Sherman burned his way south—and that was because a contingency of union soldiers rode out to tell the general that the campus buildings were being used as a hospital for both sides. Once Sherman confirmed that, he left these ante-bellum structures stand and burned everything else in town.

The USC campus is next to a vibrant restaurant, bistro, and bar area with both upscale and more moderately priced venues. The downtown area is home to the Nickelodeon Theatre, near Columbia’s historic district, and the Columbia Museum of Art. Nearby are the Riverbanks Zoo—a nationally ranked zoo and botanical garden that’s the #1 tourist attraction of its kind in the Southeast—and Congaree National Park, the largest tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the U.S.

The city of Columbia is easily accessible either by direct flights from some cities or by flights to Charlotte followed by a short commuter flight (25 min.) to Columbia, or by car rental. The Charlotte airport is the destination for international flights from around the world.