While New York's social scene migrates to the Hamptons for the summer, writers from all over the world head for Vermont to hibernate, recharge their batteries and soak in inspiration from one of America's most unsullied, majestic and green states. There, the blissfully reclusive figures take temporary residence in streamlined country homes, hermitic cabins and the rare organic cafes offering Wi-Fi. In August, an elite subset coalesce for the legendary Bread Loaf Writers' Conference to workshop, network and contribute to the oldest and one of the most revered writers' gatherings in America.
Founded in 1926 by Vermont's prestigious Middlebury College at a time when "creative writing" was not yet included in serious academic curriculums at American universities, the conference is held at the Bread Loaf Inn, near Vermont's Bread Loaf Mountain. The Victorian-style Inn and the land where the conference is held were willed to Middlebury College as the site for a graduate school in English and American literature by their 19th century owner, Joseph Battell, who bred Vermont's beloved Morgan horses and acted as proprietor of the local newspaper.
During its early days, the conference was most imbued with the ethos and spirit of its founder, the great poet and nature-lover Robert Frost, who presided over 29 sessions.
Inspired by Bread Loaf's natural splendour, Frost gathered many of Middlebury's esteemed professors, including Willa Cather, Katherine Lee Bates and Louise Untermeyer, to convene in the inspiring setting when the campus was vacated for the late summer.
Following in Frost's footsteps, the Vermont-born editor, publisher and write John Chipman Farrar attracted a wider range of authors to the site during its fledging years. Gradually, Bread Loaf grew in size and, more significantly, in stature. But it still remains highly selective and intimate. In most years, only 230 writers are invited to attend.
Past years have hosted such literary luminaries as Ann Sexton, Toni Morrison, Eudora Welty, May Sarton and John Gardner. During the 10-day sessions, participants attend 10-person workshops and conduct public readings in small groupings which are held at 9.00am, 4.00pm and then at 8.00pm. This year, massive flooding throughout Vermont has caused serious road damage to the routes leading to Bread Loaf, but the conference was still bountiful, with top fiction writers reading from their most recent or upcoming work.
The roster of writers who emerged from the conference's cluster of white-painted cottages to read to an audience of magazine editors, publishers, grant specialists and voraciously literate locals have included poets, novelists and an expanding list of non-fiction writers.
Broad topics open to the public include a talk titled A Traitor in the House: Autobiography and Fiction, organised by the South African novelist Lynn Freed, who has published in magazines ranging from The New Yorker, Harper's and the Atlantic Monthly to Vogue, Elle and House & Garden. As one former Middlebury student living in a nearby town proclaimed, "Vermont can seem very still and chilled-out, but people take life of the mind very seriously here. It is always great when the writers come riding into town."
Among the most high-profile participants this year is the renowned journalist, memoirist and author, Susan Orlean. As a regular writer for The New Yorker, Orlean has written about politics, fashion and her dog for the iconic publication's urbane and intellectual readership.
But she is best known as the inspiration for Adaptation, Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman's 2002 surreal romp through the clichés of Hollywood and literary theory, in which her character was played by Meryl Streep.
At Bread Loaf, Orlean was very much herself while serving as a faculty adviser during the conference's workshop sessions. On her blog, she enthused, "The conference is pretty wonderful - first of all, it's in a gorgeous spot in Vermont; secondly, there are lots of interesting people, and every day there are readings and book signings and what-have-you; thirdly, lots of agents and editors come through there to meet with writers, which makes it a valuable experience all around."
And once it is over, with polished prose and recharged batteries, the summer scholars can go back to their city schedules until they return next year for another retreat in Vermont's intellectual hideaway.
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Brief scores:
Manchester City 2
Gundogan 27', De Bruyne 85'
Crystal Palace 3
Schlupp 33', Townsend 35', Milivojevic 51' (pen)
Man of the Match: Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace)
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Company%20profile
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPAD%20(2022)
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