Travel Classics Writers Contests
Travel Classics West 2010
Writers Contest: Best Story on Arizona
sponsored by Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa
Winner: Michael Shapiro
excerpt from Michael's story:
"He was 70 years old when he came to Taliesin,"
Roy said. "There was nothing here, he was shy on cash, the apprentices were eager but that's all you could say about them. And they built this placee - by hand."
Fellow architects derided Wright's school as a Tom Sawyer-like scheme for extracting work from students and having them pay for the privilege. But Wright, inspired by his wife Olgivanna, who had studied with the mystical teacher Gurdjieff, felt students learned by doing, and that they could absorb knowledge via osmosis by being in the presence of a master.
Roy heartily agreed saying that just watching the fastidiously dressed Wright work was a lesson in itself. He said Wright could fully conceive a complex building before putting it to paper. And while Roy suggested that Wright enjoyed having admiring students around, he didn't run the program for the money.
"I paid for that first year and Frank Lloyd Wright gave me seven years of scholarship. He was very generous," Roy said. But that didn't mean Wright was tolerant. He was "looking for people who were serious. If you didn't pull your weight, he'd tell you to pack up right away."
And though his students camped in the desert, Wright expected them to dress well for formal events such as piano recitals on the property. Wright told new students in the fellowship to bring "a sleeping bag and the tuxedo."
Michael Shapiro is author of A Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers Talk About Their Craft, Lives, and Inspiration. Shapiro's story about rafting through the Grand Canyon in the wake of John Wesley Powell's first descent is in The Best Travel Writing 2011. His work appears in National Geographic Traveler, Islands, Private Clubs, Lexus, The Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle. This is his third consecutive Travel Classics Arizona award.
Michael wins a 3-day vacation
package in Arizona, sponsored by Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa; contest prize details.
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Current Contests:
Best Travel Story Ireland 2011
8-night luxury vacation in Ireland sponsored by Spector Tours. Deadline: 11/15/2011. Find out more.
Best Travel Story Vancouver 2011
5-day vacation in Kelowna, BC
sponsored by Tourism Kelowna.
Deadline: 1/15/2012. Find out more.
Recent Contests:
Best Travel Story Quebec 2010
Rachel wins a 4-night vacation package in Quebec, sponsored by Tourism Quebec. Find out more.
Best Travel Story Arizona 2009
Michael Shapiro wins a 2-night stay at Ocatilla at the Arizona Biltmore. Find out more.
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