Miss Alabama to read from Zelda Fitzgerald's novel Save Me The Waltz at the Fitzgerald Museum January 18.

Chandler Champion, the reigning Miss Alabama, will
give a special reading from Zelda Fitzgerald's novel
Save Me the Waltz.

SELTI and the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum are proud to announce that the reigning Miss Alabama, Chandler Champion, will give a special reading from Zelda Fitzgerald's novel Save Me The Waltz at the museum on Saturday, January 18 at 2:00 p.m. The excerpt will give the audience a sense of what was it like for the young Alabama belle Zelda Sayre to fall in love with Lieutenant F. Scott Fitzgerald during World War I in Montgomery. Scott Fitzgerald was one of many beaus who courted Zelda Sayre while training at Camp Sheridan to go overseas in the war.

In the largely autobiographical novel, Zelda's fictional character "Alabama Beggs" falls in love with the fictional "David Knight," an army lieutenant stationed in her hometown during the war. In the novel, Knight becomes a famous painter in New York, while Fitzgerald became a famous writer in real life. Both the fictional and real couples moved to the French Riviera and Paris before returning home to America.

Miss Alabama's personal community service platform is "Chandler's Challenge: Reading Is Believing . . . Don't Stop Believing," which encourages people to read every day. Both Zelda and Chandler studied ballet, which is a strong theme in Zelda's novel.

Story About Thoreau's Walden Pond Wins Fitzgerald Museum Writing Contest



Walden Pond, the setting for "A Man by the Pond," by Jacob Lambert,
 winner of the 2013 F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum Literary Contest.
Lambert is an English major at Auburn University Montgomery.
Photo by Tim Hettler/Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.

Editor’s note: “A Man by the Pond” won first place in the college division of the 2013 F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum Literary Contest. Jacob Lambert, the author, is an English major at Auburn University Montgomery. The short story is set at Walden Pond in Massachusetts, the real inspiration of Henry David Thoreau’s classic work Walden from the 1840’s. Thoreau’s work influenced the modern environmentalist movement and also included some wonderful humor and fresh perspectives on the traditional world and ways of thinking. After the story, please click on the links in the Tourism Guide to learn how to visit the real Walden Pond today. Please also learn about the sponsor of the contest, the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum in Montgomery.
Photos: Click photos to enlarge! The photos of Walden Pond in this article came from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism's Flickr page, used under the Creative Commons license. Many more pictures of the area are available by clicking here.



 

"A Man by the Pond"

By Jacob Lambert

     As the train came to a shuddering halt, Thomas Little stepped down the steel steps and out into the dry summer air. In the distance, he could see an immense pond, one surrounded by a forest that seemed to threaten the very integrity of the above crystalline sky. The humidity, along with the multitudes of insects swarming around his sweaty, waxen face, made him wish that he had worn something thinner, less heavy, than his current black slacks and grey wool jacket. However, that was the dress for the day, or what the gentlemen at Harvard suggested, but Thomas, now walking around to the other side of the train, his eyes resting beyond, towards the pond, was growing tired of these formalities, these outfits of gloom. Perhaps, the man he was going to see, the one who would lecture next week—depending, of course, on the merits of their conversation—might make his job simpler, giving a concrete “yes,” without his typical allusions to abstract philosophies. Then, hopefully, Thomas could go home and change, see his family, and, possibly, read—but he doubted it. After all, he was going to see Henry David Thoreau.

Walden Pond.
Photo by Troy B. Thompson/Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism

     The walk was a laborious one: tall grass, dried mud, and more insects, each making the journey to the minuscule cabin in the distance tedious, almost painful, but Thomas continued, his stale brown eyes scanning the ‘property’ for the man in question. Then, approaching the wooden refuge, there he was, sitting to the right of the cabin, his attention engaged to a small book in his lap.

     “Mr. Thoreau?” Thomas asked, confused as to why the man resigned himself to reading in the dirt when, just inside his tiny home, there was a perfectly apt desk for the task.

      For a moment, Thoreau continued to read, as if he had heard nothing, but seconds later, he abruptly slammed the book to a close and turned to view the heavy man to his right. He then stood, stretched, and nodded—saying nothing in reply. The first thing Thomas noticed was the grimy clothes the man wore: tattered, dusty slacks and an equally ramshackle black jacket. His black beard, seeming to cover only his jawline and under, was unkempt, and his hair, aside from growing wild on his head, looked as if he had been sleeping in the woods. But his eyes, deep-set and masculine, emanated intelligence, a sort of searing blue seen only in the hottest part of a flame.

An outdoor guidepost at Walden Pond.
Photo by Zeetz Jones/
Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism

     “You are Mr. Thoreau, are you not? Thomas asked.

     Thoreau, once again, nodded.

     “My name is Thomas Little, sir, and I come on behalf of the university,” he paused, looked around, and frowned. “Say, if you don’t mind my asking, why did you decide to move into such a…such a wilderness, something so far removed from society?”    

     Seeming to consider the question, Thoreau looked up at the sky, a dim smile forming on his semi-thin lips, and after returning his gaze back to Thomas, placing his hands to his side, he answered. “I wish to meet the facts of life—the vital facts, which where the phenomena or actuality the Gods meant to show us, face to face, and so I came here.”

     “I don’t quite understand you, sir. What life can a man profit from this place? There is nothing but sediment and emptiness,” Thomas replied, bewildered by Thoreau’s statement.

     At this, Thoreau’s smile widened, his eyes seeming to drill through Thomas’ own. In that smile, Thomas could see another, less appealing characteristic of the man: his unconventional face, the ugliness that surely plagued the tall man, another possible—if not frank—reason for his departure from society: hiding, not basking, in the wilderness of the forest.



Fall at Walden Pond.
Photo by Troy B. Thompson/
Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism

     “Life! who knows what it is—what it does? If I am not quite here I am less wrong than before,” Thoreau replied, taking a step to the right and walking past Thomas, towards the pond.

     “But what about the silence? Does it not bother you?”

     Without turning around, for his gaze remained on the pond, Thoreau shook his head, his mess of hair swaying in the wind, which provided no comfort from the increasing heat bearing down on the afternoon turf.  “Sound was made not so much for conveniences, that we might hear when called, as to regale the sense—and fill one of the avenues of life.”

      It was, Thomas thought, like speaking to someone foreign, someone lacking the ability to translate mind to mouth, like a child searching for understanding in grunts and cries. Thoreau was exactly like what he expected, especially after the briefing at the university, where warnings about the man’s strange sensibilities remained hidden in conversation. Only a few more inquires, Thomas thought, and then down to business.

     Walking over to where Thoreau had perched himself by the pond, Thomas wiped the sweat from his face and spoke, “There is a certain melancholy to this place, sir, or does that not bother you as well?”

     Thoreau tilted his head to the right and sighed, his hands gently playing with a small twig. “There can be no really black melan-choly to him who lives in the midst of nature, and has still his senses. All nature is classic and akin to art—The sumack and pine and hickory which surround my house remind me of the most graceful sculpture.”




The replica of Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond.
Photo by Chiot's Run/
Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism

     “And what of religion? You spoke of God, but what did you mean? Do you attend sermon on Sunday?”

     To this question, Thoreau seemed irritated, for he suddenly grunted and tossed the twig to his side, his attention drifting from the pond to Thomas. “The preacher, instead of vexing the ears of drowsy farmers on their day of rest, at the end of the week, (for Sundays always seemed to me like a fit conclusion of an ill spent week and not the fresh and brave beginning of a new one) with this one other draggletail and postponed affair of a sermon, from thirdly to 15thly, should teach them with a thundering voice—pause & simplicity.”

     “So you say that it is too dry? Or lacking the vitality of truth?  What do you mean?” Thomas asked, but Thoreau had stood up and started to walk towards his cabin, intent on finishing the conversation with the closing of a door.

     His entire body drenched from the temperature of the forested sauna, Thomas, picking up his pace to catch Thoreau before he disappeared, shouted at his back. “Are you going to do the lecture then?”

     Before there was a reply, Thoreau was out of sight, leaving Thomas to venture back to the train, back to Concord, and though the heavy-set man thought of pursuing Thoreau, trying one more time for the answer, he figured he would just wait, leave the task to someone else more suited to it. The university, after all, did have other representatives, and Thomas, already exhausted, decided to leave the man alone, leave him to his dirt and trees.

     “Perhaps, sending a letter would suffice. Surely the man has a mailbox,” Thomas said, turning around, a smile forming on his thick lips.

     “Definitely, a letter will do.”

Works Cited

Thoreau, Henry David. Walden, Civil Disobedience, And Other Writings, Authoritative Texts, Journal, Reviews And   

Posthumous Assessments, Criticism. 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton Co Inc, 2008. Print.

TOURISM GUIDE



Jacob Lambert (right) receives an award and cash prize for winning
first place in the 2013 F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum
Literary Contest. Dr. W. Blake Gerard (left), Lambert's
English professor, also received an award and cash prize
from the Fitzgerald Museum, presented by museum board
 member Martha Cassells (center) at a museum reception.
Photo from F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum. 



Fortunately for modern literary tourists, the real Walden Pond has been preserved as a state reservation and is still accessible today in a condition almost as pristine as Thoreau knew it in the 1840’s. Any student who has ever had to write a paper or essay on Thoreau might appreciate the humor in this story, but it also reintroduces Thoreau to modern readers. After reading this story, I immediately pulled out my Kindle Fire and downloaded a copy of the classic Walden and started reading it again. I found myself laughing at Thoreau’s humor and found some new resonance with his writing that I didn’t seem to have when I was younger.

If you click on the tourism links below, you can learn more about how to visit Walden Pond. If only such links were also available in the book Walden itself, then perhaps generations of current and future readers might be introduced to a unique and inspiring literary tourism attraction outdoors. If every new person who read Walden in the future were to be offered links inside the book inviting them to Walden Pond, that could have a strong economic impact on the state of Massachusetts over generations, considering that Walden is a classic work that will be read by millions of students over time. The real Walden Pond offers swimming, canoeing, and hiking, so stop by and soak up the beauty of nature perhaps while soaking up some classic literature as well.

If you would like to learn more about the sponsor of the literary contest, please also click on the links to the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum below. The Fitzgerald museum holds events throughout the year such as 1920’s Flapper galas, book signings from New York Times bestselling authors, poetry and writing contests, and art and movie exhibitions, to name a few. Helping to judge the literary contest has been one of my favorite aspects of working with the museum. We do have our own tourism edition of Fitzgerald’s classic 1920 debut novel: This Side of Paradise: Interactive Tourism Edition. Our tourism edition also has links to literary destinations related with Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird.

TOURISM LINKS

Walden Pond State Reservation
F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum
Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism 

“Damn the Torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead!” How Historic Sites Could Help Save the Future of the Economy

Fort Morgan in Mobile Bay, site of the famous
Battle of Mobile Bay in the Civil War 

Part of my job is scouting out areas that would make ideal settings for tourism novels and short stories. The Mobile Bay area—where Admiral David Farragut shouted the famous lines above during the Civil War—was the latest destination. The city of Mobile can be read about in countless nonfiction history books, since it was founded in 1702 by the French, but what about all the people who don’t read history books but who do love reading novels? Fiction has the flexibility to move outside the boundaries of historical facts and jump into modern scenarios using real historical locations.

For example, when I walk through historic Fort Morgan, the Confederate fortress that guarded Mobile Bay, I not only imagine the cannons blazing out shells against Farragut’s invading fleet 150 years ago, but I also imagine a climatic chase scene of a modern novel through the same creepy tunnels and dark, shadowy chambers. Historical sites like Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines have a unique, powerful feel that modern buildings can’t compete with for a dramatic story setting. Walking through the fort today, I can feel that power pulling on my imagination. What would happen if many writers came here and competed on who could compose the best tourism short story to draw tourists in? Sometimes when the creative gates are opened, surprising results come in. And more importantly, tourism short stories can become the foundations for tourism novels that capture even more nearby locations within a larger story.

 

A creepy tunnel in Fort Morgan, the possible setting
for a modern suspense novel?

This wouldn’t be the first time that a historic site was the setting for a tourism short story contest. The mysterious Moundville Archaeological Park near Tuscaloosa was the target setting for the Inaugural SELTI Writing Contest. Although the Native American mounds were steeped in history, it was a surprisingly modern take on them that won with Kathryn Lang’s "Digging Up Bones".

Tourism short story competitions can also cover a larger area like Mobile Bay, as in the Lookout Alabama SELTI Writing Contest in northeast Alabama’s beautiful Lookout Mountain region. Originally, only the top story from the five finalists in that contest was going to be published in Lookout Alabama magazine, but the final five were so good that the magazine is publishing all of them in separate editions. The first place winner, "The Totem" by Natalie Cone, was published in the Summer edition, and just recently another finalist, Shawn Blankenship’s “Coming Home,” was published in the Fall edition.

 

Fort Conde in Mobile, a French colonial fort and museum.

So what does the Mobile Bay area offer for tourism fiction? A ferry runs between Fort Morgan and its sister historic site Fort Gaines across the Mobile Bay on Dauphin Island. A bridge runs from Dauphin Island up to the city of Mobile, where two more historical attractions could serve as inspirations. Fort Conde is a restored French colonial fort with a museum, and the Museum of Mobile offers a very impressive two-story collection in the historic town hall. The USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park offers its own dramatic settings with a full-size World War II battleship and submarine along with countless other military vehicles on display.

The rooftop pool of the Battle House Hotel overlooks
Mobile Bay and the city skyline.

The historic Battle House Renaissance Hotel offers high-end accommodations with a full-service spa next to a rooftop outdoor pool that overlooks the scenic Mobile skyline and bay. Or tourists can choose the smaller bed and breakfast option with places like the charming Fort Conde Inn.

The downtown Mobile area has a wide range of dining within easy walking distance along Bienville Square and Cathedral Square in front of the beautiful and historic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (do stop inside the cathedral for inspiring architecture and art). For literary lovers, there’s even a bar named Boo Radleys! The French architectural influence gives downtown Mobile a colorful and festive flavor much like New Orleans. There’s the Mobile Carnival Museum by itself and another great carnival collection in the Museum of Mobile.

 

French architecture gives downtown
Mobile a colorful character.

You can click on all the links above to visit the websites of each of the places mentioned, but the same links could also be in a tourism novel. An area like Mobile Bay could be the setting for multiple tourism novels, from romance to mystery to suspense, and all could include tourism guides at the end that drew readers towards the real tourism attractions. Although paper novels can guide readers at the end to a website that includes the links, readers would have to type in the website address or search for it, but Kindle or iPad novels can let readers click on the links and instantly browse the tourism websites without having to wait. E-readers with web browsers could even allow a reader to book a hotel room in the area while reading the book if the link is added by the publisher. The only problem is that most writers and publishers around the country haven’t started including these types of tourism links yet.

 

Blind Fate, the first novel with an
interactive tourism guide. Could Mobile
be the setting of a future tourism novel?

If you would like to read tourism novels that do include the links already, try the suspense novel Blind Fate or This Side of Paradise: Interactive Tourism Edition, two special publishing projects of SELTI. Blind Fate is set in real tourism attractions of the Montgomery area (told from the unique “perspective” of a blind protagonist), and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel This Side of Paradise (from 1920) is largely set in Princeton. Blind Fate was featured in USA Today for its innovation in tourism promotion within a novel.

After visiting the Mobile Bay area, I would be very excited to see what writers could produce that would draw tourists to the local attractions. Sometimes a tourism short story competition can start things off, but government and corporate partners help speed things up on that front. Cities and regions have to work to attract writers to do these types of tourism fiction projects, just as they do to attract films or factories but at far less investment.

The potential certainly exists in Mobile Bay for a bestselling tourism novel that could bring in millions in new revenue, like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil did for Savannah. The Alabama Legislature recently passed a joint resolution inviting authors to write about real Alabama tourism attractions and encouraging cities to pursue grants to attract authors, but the legislature left the initiative up to individual cities and counties to pursue such projects.

 

Beautiful Bienville Square in downtown Mobile

With the nation’s economy on such shaky ground, most cities would love to pursue a new way to attract tourism revenue, so a Mobile Bay area tourism short story contest could showcase the bay’s attractions on a national level for any cities that would like to follow the same contest model. If the concept of tourism fiction works for Mobile, then wouldn’t it work for San Francisco, Atlanta, New York, and Seattle? Once the idea of setting novels in tourism attractions (and including the related tourism links) catches on nationally, the resulting boom in tourism will help bolster the national economy, which is 70% based on consumer spending—exactly the kind of spending produced by tourism.

 

Charming Cathedral Square in downtown Mobile.

Suppose companies like Amazon created “tourism novel” categories so that readers who were looking for those types of stories could find them easily, whether they were looking for a city to visit or were already going there and just wanted to get to know its attractions better. If fifty percent of the new novels that hit the market had a tourism guide related to the story, how would that impact the national economy? This is an interesting question that the publishing and tourism industries should consider, along with state governments that need new revenue and taxes that come directly from tourism.

Since historic sites work so well as the settings for tourism fiction, they could indeed help save the future of the economy by inspiring a new wave of consumer spending based on tourism novels. Setting the stories in the modern day allows the fictional characters to do fun things like stay in the real Fort Conde Inn or Battle House Hotel, to have a conversation with another character in Cathedral Square, and to have a drink at the Royal Street Tavern while listening to live piano music. Let tourism fiction writers be inspired by the unique settings of Mobile Bay and see what develops!