A TOTAL OF 2.8 CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS ARE AVAILABLE DURING

THE 19^TH ANNUAL NATCHEZ LITERARY AND CINEMA CELEBRATION

FEBRUARY 20-24, 2008

 

RICHARD WRIGHT, THE SOUTH, AND THE WORLD: A CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

Events approved for CEU credit are explained below and marked with a bullet.

Certain ticketed events are included in the cost of CEUs. See notes.

For maximum number of 2.8 CEUs, the cost is $75. For fewer CEUs, the cost is $65.

 

TO REGISTER AND PAY FOR CEUs, CONTACT

STURLEEN MORRIS

NATCHEZ-ADAMS COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

P.O. BOX 1188, NATCHEZ, MS 39121

stbmorris@natchez.k12.ms.us

 

• All events are at the Natchez Convention Center, 211 Main St., unless otherwise noted.
• All events are free unless otherwise noted. For ticketed events, email Carolyn.Smith@colin.edu or call 601-446-1289 or toll-free 1-866-296-NLCC.

 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2008

 

·        .2 CEU 7-9 p.m.

 

            7 p.m.               Opening ceremonies

 

7:15 p.m.          Screening of Richard Wright: Black Boy, a documentary of the life of

Richard Wright, produced by Madison Davis Lacy, Jr., FireThorn Productions, Weehawken, N.J., introduced by Madison Davis Lacy, Jr., followed by discussion.

 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2008

 

·        .15 CEU 9-10:30 a.m.

 

9       a.m.            Welcome and introductions, Howell C. Garner, President, Copiah-Lincoln

Community College

·        Phillip West, Mayor of the City of Natchez

·        William Winter Scholars

·        William and Harriet Vance Fellows

·        Phi Theta Kappa Members

·        NLCC Advisory Board Members

·        Members of the Richard Wright family

·        William F. Winter

 

            9:15 a.m.          “Richard Wright, Willie Dixon, and Eudora Welty: Music and Literary

Genius,” William Ferris, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

 

 

 

 

·        .1 CEU 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

 

11 a.m.             Keynote address: “Children of Oppressed Giants: Living with the Legacy

of Pain,” Julia Wright, Paris, France, Richard Wright, Daughter of a Native Son (forthcoming).

 

·       .1 CEU 2-3 p.m.

 

2 p.m.              “Mississippi Goes to the Movies: A Look at How and Why the Works of

Richard Wright, William Faulkner, and Tennessee Williams Were Adapted for the Cinema,” Robert Bray, Middle Tennessee State University.

 

·       .1 CEU 3:30-4:30 p.m.

 

3:30 p.m.         "Seeking Salvation in a Naturalistic Universe: Richard Wright's Use of

His Southern Religious Background in Black Boy (American Hunger)," Robert Butler, Canisius College, Buffalo, N.Y.

 

·       .1 CEU 4:30-5:30 p.m.

 

            4:30 p.m.         "Covering Black Boy: A Visual-Literary History of Richard Wright's

Autobiography," Howard Rambsy II, Southern Illinois University.

 

No CEU for 5:30 p.m. reception/supper. Tickets are available by calling 601-446-1289.

 

            5:30-7 p.m.      Reception and supper at Natchez Community Center, hosted by the

Natchez Association for the Preservation of Afro-American Culture ($20).

 

·       .2 CEU 7:30-9:30 p.m.

 

7:30 p.m.         “An Overview of Uncle Tom’s Children,” Robert Butler, and " ‘Long

Black Song’: From Page to Screen,” Jerry W. Ward Jr., Dillard University, with showing of “Long Black Song.”

 

Friday, February 22, 2008

 

·       .1 CEU 9-10 a.m. for event at Natchez High School OR event at Convention Center.

 

9 a.m.  Natchez High School

 

Premiere of “Richard Wright: A Force for Right,” a mini-documentary by Mark LaFrancis and students, Copiah-Lincoln Community College

 

Premiere of “Making of the Richard Wright Documentary: A Lesson in Film and Literature," by Mark LaFrancis and Copiah-Lincoln students

 

"Uncle Tom's Children: A Revolutionary New Direction in American and African American Literature," a discussion of Uncle Tom’s Children, the 2008 Book-of-the-Year selection by “Mississippi Reads,”  by Robert Butler, Canisius College, Buffalo, N.Y., with film clip of “Long Black Song” and general discussion

 

            9 a.m.        Natchez Convention Center

 

“Richard Wright and Photography,” Maren Stange, Cooper Union for the

Advancement of Science and Art, New York, N.Y.

 

·       .1 CEU 10:30-11:30 a.m.

 

            10:30 a.m.                   "Richard Wright and the Federal Writers' Project," David A. Taylor,

Alexandria, Va., writer/co-producer of “Soul of a People: Voices from the Writers’ Project.”

 

No CEU for 11:45 a.m. luncheon. Tickets available by calling 601-446-1289.

 

11:45 a.m.                   Luncheon at the Carriage House restaurant at Stanton Hall, followed by

“Creole-izing Richard Wright,” Leah Chase, New Orleans, La., The Dooky Chase Cookbook, And I Still Cook, and Down Home Healthy: Family Recipes of Black American Chefs ($20).

 

·       .1 CEU 2:15-3:15 p.m.

 

            2:15 p.m.         “Richard Wright and Trans-national Culture, Concentrating on Pagan

Spain,” John Lowe, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La.

 

·       .1 CEU 3:30-4:30 p.m.

 

            3:30 p.m.         "Native Son: The Novel and the Plays," Jerry W. Ward Jr.

 

·       No CEU for reception.

 

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.

 

.2 CEU for 8 p.m. event. Ticket to the play is included in CEU fee.

 

8 p.m.     Native Son, a play by Richard Wright, Natchez Little Theatre ($15).

 

 

 

 

Saturday, February 23, 2008

 

.1 CEU 9-10 a.m.

 

9 a.m.              “A White Man Listened: Richard Wright and the Blues,” Paul Oliver,

Oxon, Oxfordshire, England, Blues Fell This Morning: Meaning of the Blues.

 

.1 CEU 10:30-11:30 a.m.

 

10:30 a.m.                   “Richard Wright and Margaret Walker,” Maryemma Graham, University

of Kansas.

 

.3 CEU 1-4 p.m. Ticket for the tour with transportation is included in CEU fee.

 

1 p.m.              “Richard Wright, Natchez’s Own Native Son”

·      Premiere of “Richard Wright: A Force for Right,” a mini-documentary by Mark LaFrancis, Copiah-Lincoln Community College, and his students.

·      Introduction to “The Richard Wright Ramble,” Charles Wright, Natchez, Miss., Wright family historian.

 

1:30 p.m.-4 p.m. “The Richard Wright Ramble,” a guided tour of sites around Natchez

related to Wright, his family, and his works ($20, including transportation plus refreshments and exhibits at Jefferson College).

 

No CEU 2:30 p.m. Chocolate Milk Café.

 

            2:30-4 p.m.      Chocolate Milk Café, Armstrong Library, featuring writings by young

students in Adams County, Miss.

 

No CEU 4:30 p.m. reception.

 

            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.

 

.1 CEU 5:30-6:30 p.m.

 

            5:30 p.m.          An Evening with the Stars, honoring outstanding writers with Southern

roots.

                                    Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award

·       Lerone Bennett, Jr., Mississippi native now of Chicago, Ill., longtime editor of Ebony and author of Before the Mayflower: A History of the Negro in America 1619-1966 and Great Moments in Black History.

·       Brooks Haxton, Mississippi native now of Syracuse University, Uproar: Antiphonies to Psalms and other books of poetry.  

Horton Foote Award for Special Achievement in Screenwriting

·       Alfred Uhry, Georgia native, now of New York, N.Y., a playwright, lyricist, and screenwriter of Driving Miss Daisy, The Robber Bridegroom, Mystic Pizza, and Rich in Love.

 

No CEU 6:30-8 p.m. Tickets for benefit supper are available by calling 601-446-1289.

 

6:30 p.m.         Gala benefit supper honoring award winners and speakers at the historic mansion, The Towers ($125).

 

2.5 CEU 8:15-10:45 p.m.

 

8:15 p.m.                      Screening of Driving Miss Daisy, with discussion afterward led by Alfred Uhry and Scott Dixon McDowell, University of Southern Mississippi.

 

Sunday, February 24, 2008

 

Ellen Douglas Writing Workshops at Copiah-Lincoln Community College ($15)

 

.4 CEU 8:30-10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Ticket for the workshops is included in CEU fee.

 

            8:30 a.m.         “Film Composition,” Madison Davis Lacy.

 

10:30 a.m.       Reception and remarks about Ellen Douglas, Judy Daniels Wiggins,

Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Natchez, Miss.

 

11 a.m.            "Sensibility to Nature in Richard Wright's Haiku," Jianqing Zheng,

Mississippi Valley State University.