Symposia

In the spring, the Lannan Center hosts a symposium that welcomes writers, journalists, poets and other intellectuals from across the United States and abroad to discuss social and cultural topics pertinent to present time. Over the course of the symposium, speakers give lectures and readings, and participate in panels and seminars, in an attempt to address the multifaceted theme selected and developed by the Symposium Director. Past themes include poetry of war and and remembrance, the relationship between literacy and democracy, and writing as an immigrant in the United States.

Writing Climate

Left: "Reading Addict" by Brittany Castle (a woman with flaming red hair opens a book and pages fly behind her). Center: A painting of people in a rubber boat in the middle of the sea. Right: An incarcerated figure framed by a prison cell that doubles as a bookshelf.

The Writer in the World

Three photos: 1) A tired female doctor sits cross-legged in a hospital corridor with a face mask pulled down. 2) A woman's hands clasp the hands of a hospital patient in a bed. 3) A couple embraces in front of a blue and yellow train in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Reading & Writing the Body

Three images: Martin Luther King Jr.; Two Flag-Raisings at the Battle of Iwo Jima; Fearless Girl facing the Wall Street Bull

Beyond Identity: Reimagining the American Narrative

Black man in hat bending over wheat fields

THIS LAND: 2021 Lannan Center Symposium