[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 117 (Friday, August 2, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF F. SCOTT FITZGERALD

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                       HON. CONSTANCE A. MORELLA

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 2, 1996

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the city of 
Rockville's Centennial Celebration of F. Scott Fitzgerald. This year-
long celebration will commemorate the centennial year of his birth as 
well as his association with the city of Rockville.
  F. Scott Fitzgerald is widely regarded as having been one of 
America's foremost authors. The novels and short stories he wrote 
during the 1920's and 1930's were distinctly American in their cultural 
view, yet the humanity that his characters displayed was universal. His 
masterpiece, ``The Great Gatsby,'' remains a mainstay in literature 
classes across the country. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald passed away on 
Dec. 21, 1940. He now is buried alongside his wife, Zelda, his 
daughter, Scottie, and his parents and grandparents at Rockville's St. 
Mary's Cemetery.
  The F. Scott Fitzgerald Centennial Committee has done an exceptional 
job in preparing this year of celebration. In addition to movie nights 
and theme months--April was ``Roaring Twenties Month''--they have 
planned events to raise public awareness about Fitzgerald's life and 
his current literary heirs. In September they have planned a ``Gatsby 
Ball'' for charity, with all profits from the evening going to 
Rockville Arts Place. Also in September is the first ever F. Scott 
Fitzgerald Literary Conference at the Montgomery College Theater Arts 
Building, located at Montgomery College's Rockville Campus. This event 
will be marked by the presentation of the first F. Scott Fitzgerald 
Literary Prize to William Styron, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning 
novel ``The Confessions of Nat Turner,'' as well as many other works, 
including 1979's ``Sophie's Choice.''
  I know my colleagues will join me in recognizing the citizens of 
Rockville who have given their time to help in the remembrance of one 
of America's premier writers: John Moser and Don Boebel, Co-Chairs of 
the F. Scott Fitzgerald Centennial Committee; Hon. Rose G. Krasnow, 
mayor of the city of Rockville; the members of the city of Rockville 
Public Information Office. As this centennial year continues, let us 
all remember F. Scott Fitzgerald and his literary creations.

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