Events
The 19th Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration, Feb. 21-25, 2008, presents
Richard Wright, the South, and the World: A Centennial Celebration
Natchez Convention Center, Natchez, Miss.
AGENDA as of July 30, 2007
| Wed., Feb. 20, 2008 | |
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Pre-conference program at Copiah-Lincoln Community College, sponsored by Copiah-Lincoln, Student Support Services, and the NLCC
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| Thurs., Feb. 21, 2008 | |
| 9 a.m.: | “Living with the Legacy of Pain,” by Julia Wright, Paris, France, author of the forthcoming memoir, Richard Wright, Daughter of a Native Son, chief editor of the cultural section of the weekly Jeune Afrique, and former faculty member, Modern Languages Institute, Accra, Ghana |
| 10:30 a.m.: | “Richard Wright, Eudora Welty, and Southern Music,” by William Ferris, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, "You Live and Learn. Then You Die and Forget It All": Ray Lum's Tales of Horses, Mules, and Men; Local Color; Images of the South: Visits with Eudora Welty and Walker Evans; Blues from the Delta; The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture (co-editor); Mississippi Black Folklore; Images of the South: Afro-American Folk Art and Crafts |
| 2 p.m.: | (tentative title) “Adapting Richard Wright’s Works and Tennessee Williams’ Works to the Screen,” with film clips, by Robert Bray, Professor of English, Middle Tennessee State University, and R. Barton Palmer, author/editor of a dozen books about film |
| 3:30 p.m.: | "Richard Wright's Literary Uses of His Southern Religious Background in Black Boy/ American Hunger," by Robert Butler, Canisius College, Buffalo, N.Y. |
| 5:30-7 p.m.: | Reception and supper at Natchez Community Center next door to Convention Center, hosted by Natchez Association for the Preservation of Afro-American Culture, based on foods Richard Wright loved and those mentioned in his works |
| 7:30 p.m.: | “A Discussion of Uncle Tom’s Children,” by Robert Butler, Canisius College, Buffalo, N.Y, and "A Discussion of ‘Long Black Song’: From Page to Screen,” by Jerry W. Ward Jr., Dillard University, New Orleans, followed by a showing of “Long Black Song” and discussion |
| Fri., Feb. 22, 2008 | |
| 9 a.m.: | Concurrent event for area high school students, Natchez High School
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| 9 a.m.: | Natchez Convention Center “Richard Wright’s Photography,” by Maren Stange, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York, N.Y.,with illustrations |
| 10:30 a.m.: | "Richard Wright and the Federal Writers' Project," by David A. Taylor, Alexandria, Va., writer and co-producer of “Soul of a People: Voices from the Writers’ Project,” a documentary film about 1930s America |
| 11:45 a.m.: | Lunch at the Carriage House restaurant on the grounds of Stanton Hall, followed by (tentatively) “Southern Foods of the 20th Century,” by Leah Chase, New Orleans, La., The Dooky Chase Cookbook, And I Still Cook, and Downhome Healthy : Family Recipes of Black American Chefs, and host of a cooking show devoted to Creole cooking |
| 2:15 p.m.: | “Richard Wright’s Pagan Spain,” by John Lowe, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La., Bridging Southern Cultures, The Future of Southern Letters, Conversations with Ernest Gaines, Jump at the Sun: Zora Neale Hurston’s Cosmic Comedy, Approaches to Teaching Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and Other Works, and Pelican Eyes: Louisiana Culture and the Nation, 1660-1990 |
| 3:30 p.m.: | "Native Son: The Novel and the Plays," by Jerry W. Ward Jr., Dillard University, New Orleans, La., Trouble the Water and Black Southern Voices , co-editor of the Richard Wright Encyclopedia, and founding member of the Richard Wright Circle |
| 5-6:30 p.m.: | Reception hosted by Mississippi Public Broadcasting Foundation, Angeletty House, headquarters of the regional chapter of the National Coalition of One Hundred Black Women, Natchez, Miss. |
| 8 p.m.: | Native Son, presented in cooperation with The Natchez Little Theatre, Natchez Convention Center |
| Sat., Feb. 23, 2008 | |
| 9 a.m.: | (tentative subject and tentative speaker) “Richard Wright and the Blues,” Paul Oliver, Oxon, Oxfordshire, England, Blues Fell This Morning and Conversation with the Blues |
| 10:30 a.m.: | “Richard Wright and Margaret Walker,” Maryemma Graham, University of Kansas, Lawrence Kans., Introduction to On Being Female, Black, and Free: Essays by Margaret Walker, 1932-1992 |
| 1 p.m.: | “Richard Wright, Natchez’s Own Native Son”
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| 1:30 p.m.-4 p.m.: | “The Richard Wright Ramble,” a guided tour of Natchez and Southwest Mississippi related to Richard Wright, his family, and sites that inspired his works, originated by Charles Wright, Natchez, Miss. |
| 2:30-4 p.m.: | Chocolate Milk Café, Armstrong Library, featuring writings by young Adams County, Miss., authors on the subject, “This I Believe,” chaired by Mark LaFrancis, Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Natchez, Miss. |
| 4:30-5:30 p.m.: | Reception hosted by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, The University of Mississippi, Natchez Convention Center Lobby |
| 5:30 p.m.: | An Evening with the Stars, honoring outstanding writers with Southern roots Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award winners
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| 6:30 p.m.: | Gala benefit reception and supper party honoring the 2008 NLCC award winners and speakers at The Towers, the historic home of Ginger Hyland, Natchez, Miss. |
| 8 p.m.: | Screening of a film written by Horton Foote award winner, TBA. |
| Sun., Feb. 24, 2008 – Ellen Douglas Writing Workshops at Copiah-Lincoln Community College | |
| 8:30-10:30 a.m.: | (tentative title) “Richard Wright and Film,” Madison Davis Lacy, New York, N.Y., writer, producer, and director |
| 10:30-11 a.m.: | Refreshments; remarks about Ellen Douglas’s life and writing career |
| 11 a.m.-1 p.m.: | "Sensibility to Nature in Richard Wright's Haiku," John (or Jianqing) Zheng, Mississippi Valley State University, Itta Bena, Miss. |
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