1999 N.O. Words & Music Festival to feature WP events


Subject: 1999 N.O. Words & Music Festival to feature WP events
From: Henry P. Mills (wpercy2@SUNSITE.UNC.EDU)
Date: Mon Sep 06 1999 - 17:49:42 EDT


1999 WORDS & MUSIC FESTIVAL IN NEW ORLEANS
to be held
September 22 through September 26

The festival will feature several Walker Percy events/speakers, including

--the "New Orleans, Mon Amour" conference session (named in honor of
Percy's essay), which is to be the final working session of the writers'
conference portion of the annual festival;

--Ron Shelton, whose films include Cobb, Blaze, Tin Cup, and Bull Durham,
who will speak on "Why The Moviegoer Probably Shouldn't Be A Movie"; and

--Sheila Bosworth and Stewart O'Nan, who will discuss the influence of
Walker Percy on contemporary novelists.

Last year's Words & Music Festival saluted Walker Percy with several events
celebrating his work, but most of the festival was cancelled because of
Hurricane Georges. Contact Rosemary James, Conference Director, at the
below address for specifics/confirmations:

E-Mail: FaulkHouse@aol.com
Mail: 632 Pirate's Alley, New Orleans, La. 70ll6-3254.
Phone: (504) 586-1612.
Web: http://hometown.aol.com/faulkhouse

____________________________
ABOUT WORDS & MUSIC '99
(taken from website)

Words & Music, '99, created and sponsored by the non-profit literary and
educational organization, The Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society, Inc., will
be five days of the perfect words of literary masters--roundtable
discussions, original drama, poetry readings, master classes and one-on-one
consultations with some of the best publishing executives, editors and
agents in the country--and great music as only New Orleanians can write it
and play it, all liberally sauced with the fine cuisine for which the city
is noted.

The 1999 conference will address the question of why so many writers have
found New Orleans such an inspiring muse. "New Orleans, Mon Amour" is to
be a permanent discussion theme of Words & Music in memory of Mr. Percy,
who has had such a significant influence on many contemporary literary
fiction writers, and as a permanent salute to The Big Easy.

In 1999, New Orleans will be discussed as an example of what imbues a
"landscape" with special inspiration for the writer. Nancy Lemann, a
native New Orleanian who now lives in San Diego, and Sheila Bosworth,
another native daughter, who lives in Covington, both have unique
approaches to describing the city in their novels, such as Lemann's _The
Fiery Pantheon_ and Bosworth's _Almost Innocent_. (Editor's note: both
Lemann and Bosworth knew Percy personally).

The last working session of the conference, New Orleans, Mon Amour, (after
the Walker Percy essay) will end Sunday afternoon in time for a nap before
the finale, the Society's annual fundraiser, Happy Birthday, Mr. Faulkner!,
featuring the presentation of gold medals to the winners of the William
Faulkner Creative Writing Competition, and on-stage musical and dramatic
performances.

1998 FESTIVAL SUMMARY
The underlying theme of Words & Music, '98 was New Orleans, Mon Amour,
taken from the title of an essay by the late Walker Percy, the important
Louisiana novelist who was born in Birmingham and grew up in the
Mississippi Delta but elected to spend most of his adult career living and
working in Louisiana.

The conference theme was also the title of the festival's first evening
event at St. Louis Cathedral, which began with tributes to Mr. Percy.
Musical centerpiece last year was the preview of the opera, Ash Wednesday,
set in New Orleans during Mardi Gras and featuring all of the musical
sounds of New Orleans: jazz, gospel singing, and the blues. Shelby Foote
provided opening remarks.

Most of the 1998 festival was cancelled because of Hurricane Georges.

New Orleans, Mon Amour is to be a permanent discussion theme of Words &
Music in memory of Mr. Percy, who has had such a significant influence on
many contemporary literary fiction writers, and as a permanent salute to
The Big Easy.

__________________________________________________________________________
Henry P. Mills, Director & Editor

THE WALKER PERCY EDUCATIONAL PROJECT, INC.
An Internet Literary Center

Hosted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
http://metalab.unc.edu/wpercy

Send s-mail to:
P.O. Box 3561
Austin, TX 78764

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The Walker Percy Project is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
_________________________________________________________________________



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