The Chautauqua Experience

Chautauqua. Well, let’s start with a definition. The Native American word means “a bag tied in the middle.” What could be more elegant and sophisticated than that? OK, forget that definition. Thanks to 25 years of conferences carefully crafted by the Highlights Foundation, Chautauqua has come to define what a writer’s conference can be. In fact, I’d say it’s more like a bag untied and burst open.

Walking along its narrow brick lanes between rows of intricately crafted Victorian homes, passing by pillared gazebos, and the grand old Atheneum Hotel keeps you connected to the legacy of its past–the ghosts of Chautauqua. People like Edison, Gershwin, and Susan B. Anthony regathered their creative energies here. But the place hardly rests on its laurels; instead my experience there spawned a host of possibilities for the future.

Chautauqua was . . . dare I say, life-changing! The sessions were informational, and often inspirational. I got personal, professional advice on my writing and publishing options. My personal connections with Highlights were deepened, new friendships formed, my network multiplied. I even found a long-lost cousin by the name of Shakespear!

It seems that my bag of dreams tends to get tied in the middle during the daily course of life, focused on fulfilling my immediate responsibilities. Bunched up. Short-sighted. Chautauqua let those loose again. I’m ready to fly, go crazy, and think that anything is possible again. The bag is open–ideas are escaping, and I think I’ve lost the rope forever.