Did you know that there are probably writing circles operating within an hour's drive of where you live? A writing circle is a gathering of like-minded authors--or writers who hope to become published authors. They meet on a regular basis to share their latest work and to exchange feedback, advice, and encouragement. In the age of the Internet, you can even join a writing circle that includes people in other parts of the world--not just in your own school or city.

Writing circles are not a recent phenomenon. In the early to mid 1900s, literary salons were all the rage. And literary salons as a concept actually began long before the 20th century. Like the sonnet and other forms of poetry that became popular in England, the salon approach seems to have started in Italy in the 17th century.

Some of the more famous salons of modern times are described on the slides below.

In the 1920s, salons became very popular among Americans living abroad in Paris. Gertrude Stein (shown here at home in the parlor where creative types would gather) was known for hosting writers like Ernest Hemingway and artists like Pablo Picasso at gatherings in which they shared work and ideas. The Bloomsbury Group consisted of writers who lived near each other in London and met regularly to socialize and share work. Its most famous members included Virginia Woolf and Aldous Huxley. Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes were central figures in the Harlem Renaissance, a gathering of writers, artists, and musicians in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem. The people involved in this creative movement met in homes, theaters, and restaurants to lend support to each other's projects and share ideas about how to make the creative work of African Americans more widely appreciated.