St. Paul native F. Scott Fitzgerald is famous for many novels, perhaps none more so than The Great Gatsby. If you’re a fan of his books and short stories, you’re in luck. The F. Scott Fitzgerald Society will be holding the 14th International F. Scott Fitzgerald Society Conference in St. Paul from June 25 to July 1. “It’s the second time that it’s come to St. Paul,” F. Scott Fitzgerald scholar Mary Jane LaVigne says.
The weeklong conference will focus on different aspects of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s career, including panel discussions on Fitzgerald in the 21st century and Fitzgerald’s connection to the Midwest.
One of the events closest to home will take place on White Bear Lake. The conference promises a flotilla, a view inside a period home, “and plenty of other surprises.”
And there are many connections to our area. “He did one of his first literary successes, a performance, at the White Bear Yacht Club,” LaVigne says. Fitzgerald also spent the summer of 1922 in White Bear Lake, the year in which The Great Gatsby was set. “So in a sense, The Great Gatsby was conceived at White Bear.”
And that’s not all. Fitzgerald’s story Winter Dreams takes place on fictional Black Bear Lake and Sherry Island, and at the Black Bear Yacht Club, LaVigne says. “He wrote that while he was living in White Bear in 1922.”
For more information on prices and events, visit the website here.
