A university town which borders Interstate 80 in the midst of rural Pennsylvania.

The university which binds the town to the hicks who have always been there is hardly Ivy League. Anyone with a 2.0 GPA and an SAT score of 200 can get in. That's not to say that those who teach there aren't well-qualified and good instructors. On the contrary, graduates of Harvard and Brown, those who have taught at Princeton are employed as professors. Unfortunately for them, most of the people who end up in Clarion don't care about their futures, and are merely attending university to get away from their folks and move into the pseudo big city.

Here, teachers at the elementary and high schools are required to be atheletic coaches, ethnic slurs are background noises to be ignored, and everyone is forced to pledge allegiance to the flag, even though it's unconstitutional. Children in this town area taught to ignore justice and liberty, to create an atmosphere of hatred. There are no role models in Clarion, Pennsylvania, other than those who choose to leave.

Clarion is the finest science fiction and fantasy writer's workshop in the USA. It is held in early summer at Michigan State University in East Lansing. It lasts for six weeks -- six of the most intense reading and writing experiences possible. It has been called boot camp, and that's accurate, even down to the sleep deprivation and bad food

Critiques form the foundation of this short story workshop. The participants, usually about 18 of them, drawn from all over the US, Canada and other English-speaking countries, read and critique one another's work each day. Any speculative fiction is considered and critiqued honestly by the group, including experimental fiction and horror besides traditional fantasy and science fiction. During their time there they read and critique 100 to 200 stories, with the assistance of the instructors. Clarion has six instructors each year, all accomplished authors, who each attend for a week, except for the anchor team of two who are there for two weeks. Past instructors are Kate Wilhelm, Damon Knight, Ursula K. LeGuin, Harlan Ellison, Frederik Pohl, Samuel Delany, Joe Haldeman, A.J. Budrys, Octavia Butler, Spider Robinson, Tanarive Due, and Judith Tarr. 2001's instructor's were Steven Barnes, Kelly Link, Pat Murphy, James Patrick Kelly, Mary Turzillo and Geoffrey Landis. Each has a unique teaching style, even to the point of contradicting one another. Private conferences are given, incuding one with a visiting editor, Shawna McCarthy in 2001.

There is a Clarion West that takes place in Seattle, and runs in a similar way, but the two are not operated by the same group. Both workshops are respected and attract both new and experienced writers and instructors. Octavia Butler taught at Clarion West in 2001.

Besides the great teaching, the friendships formed among paticipants can last a lifetime. For example, Jim Kelly and Bruce Sterling attended the same session in the 70s and are still speaking. 2002 will mark the 35th Clarion, and its reputation only grows.

An in-car entertainment company based in Tokyo, Japan that makes a variety of products including car audio systems, navigation systems, mobile CB transceivers and car TV & video systems.

History:

Clarion started out in 1940 as the Hakusan Wireless Electric Company, who began to manufacture and sell battery-operated radios for households. The "Clarion" brand name was launched in 1947 and the company became the first car radio maker in Japan in 1951. In 1954, Clarion came to an agreement with RCA on AM/FM and the company produced its first car cassette deck in 1968. 1976 saw the arrrival of Clarion's first business-use karaoke (!?) system on the market. In 1980 the Semiconductor Laboratory was completed in the Tohoku Factory. Factories were soon opened up in Mexico (DIPESA, 1986) and the United States (CMCA, 1987). In 1989, ADDZEST became Clarion's brand for aftermarket Clarion car audio products.

Clarion's efforts in the field were rewarded in 1990 with the Nissan Quality Control Award. 1992 marked the release of NAC-200 car navigation system and a combined car audio/cellular phone system. J.D. Power Associates ranked Clarion as best overall OEM car audio supplier in its product quality survey in 1993. In 1996, Clarion released its Vehicle Imformation & Communications System-compatible (VICS) car navigation systems and the 10Mbps high-speed SS wireless modem was approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 1998 was a big year for the company, with Clarion's PD Division acquiring the QS9000 (a standard dictated by the three largest automobile manufacturers in the US), developing the AutoPC with Microsoft ¹ (the world's first on-board personal computer), developing a GPS receiver with Rockwell and releasing a voice-operated car navigation system. In 1999, a DVD-based car navigation system was released on the market and a 10Mbps engine for wireless LAN was developed. 2000 saw the founding of Clarion Sales Co., Ltd. (CSA) and Clarion Devices Co., Ltd. (CDC) as well as the founding of the car navigation company HCX. In 2001, Clarion moved its head office to Hakusan, Bunkyo-Kai, Tokyo.

^{1. What happens if it crashes? (LOL) ;-)}

Clar"i*on (?), n. [OE. clarioun, OF. clarion, F. clairon, LL. clario, claro; so called from its clear tone, fr. L. clarus clear. See Clear.]

A kind of trumpet, whose note is clear and shrill.

He sounds his imperial clarion along the whole line of battle. E. Everett.

 

© Webster 1913.