71st Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference - Memory, Myth, and Meaning: Cather in Dialogue with America 250

The Willa Cather Spring Conference returns with the theme “Memory, Myth, and Meaning: Cather in Dialogue with America 250.” This event invites readers, scholars, and artists to explore the enduring relevance of Willa Cather’s work. Centered on the publication centenary of her novella My Mortal Enemy, the program features keynote speaker Rebecca Romney, scholarly plenaries, and a mixed media exhibit by Susan Hart. Other highlights include the opening of All Aboard: West-Bound Trains in American Culture at the historic Burlington Depot and a special performance of The Bohemian by Harbor Stage Company. Set in Cather’s hometown of Red Cloud, the conference offers a rich blend of scholarship, art, and place. The event will be a celebration of Cather’s literature in dialogue with America’s past and present.
Registration for conference ranges in price, depending on membership and options selected. Visit the conference website for full details and to register.
The following portions of the conference are free and open to the public:

“Cancer and Caregiving: Willa Cather’s My Mortal Enemy” with Heather Althoff, 1 p.m. Thursday
“From Typescripts, to Magazine Novelette, to Book: The Writing and Publication of ‘My Mortal Enemy’ ” with Melissa Homestead, 3:45 p.m. Thursday“
To Think of All That Was Remembered and Retold: Educators in Cather’s Red Cloud” with Marcy Mahoney, Melissa Schuster and Marisa Zornes, 10:30 a.m. Friday
“Willa Cather, the Archival Chain, and the Making of a Literary Legacy” with Rebecca Romney, 7 p.m. Friday
“From Page to Stage: Adapting Cather,” with Brenda Withers and Jonathan Fielding of Harbor Stage Co., 10:45 a.m. Saturday
The Passing Show: “What Cather’s Literature Means to American Culture” with Bridget Barry, Brad Bigelow, Will Fellows and Garrett Peck, 1:30 p.m. Saturday.