February Festival of Kansas writers, artists to honor Gordon Parks on Feb. 22

LAWRENCE -- To celebrate the many renowned writers, filmmakers and artists nurtured in Kansas, sponsors from Lawrence and the University of Kansas have invited native Kansan Gordon Parks to be a featured guest for the 2003 Langston Hughes February Festival, Feb. 19 through 23.

The February Festival includes two conferences on writing and a film festival that will include two films premiering in Lawrence.

Nationally recognized for his photography, music compositions and books including "The Learning Tree," Parks has been invited for "An Evening Honoring Gordon Parks," at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Lied Center. If his health permits, Parks will come to Lawrence; if not, KU will arrange to bring Parks to the Kansas audience by satellite feed, said Maryemma Graham, who directed the 2002 Langston Hughes conference and is working with the February Fest.

Parks was born in Fort Scott in 1912. "The Learning Tree" is based on his boyhood experiences in Fort Scott and is one of four books Parks has written about his journey beyond poverty and racism to become an internationally respected photographer, film director, music composer and poet. His film directing credits include "Shaft" and "Leadbelly." His compositions include a ballet about the life of Martin Luther King Jr.

Other speakers joining the festival include:

Þ Paule Marshall, MacArthur award winner and author, New York University, speaking at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, in the Kansas Union ballroom on "The Triangular Quest for Self and Community: Brooklyn-Barbados-Benin." Her talk is sponsored by KU's Hall Center Humanities Lecture Series and is funded by the Frances and Floyd Horowitz Lecture Fund.

Þ Robert Day, KU alumnus and author of "The Last Cattle Drive," Washington University, Chestertown, Md. Day will speak at 1:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, in the Kansas Room of the Kansas Union for the 23rd Conference on Writing & Literature for elementary and secondary teachers of English and language arts.

Two films by Kansans will have Lawrence premieres as part of a literature and film festival within the February Festival:

Þ "Confederate States of America" by Kevin Willmott, KU assistant professor of theatre and film, 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, at Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts St.

ÞÊ"Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel" by Madison Lacy of New York, 1 p.m. at Haskell Indian Nations University auditorium, 155 Indian Ave. McDaniel, who won an academy award for her role in "Gone with the Wind," was a Kansan.

The literature and film festival will include staged readings of 10-minute plays written by six KU students at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St. Events on Saturday, Feb. 22, will focus on literature and film with talks in the Carnegie Building at 9th and Vermont streets.

On Sunday, Feb. 23, films by St. Clair Bourne, Guilford, Conn.; Lacy; and Pok-Chi Lau, KU associate professor of design, will be shown from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Haskell Indian Nations University auditorium. A panel discussion will follow with Lacy; Willmott; John Gronbeck-Tedesco, associate dean and professor of theatre and film; Lau; and Paul Ellenstein, director of the William Inge Theatre Festival in Independence, Kan.

The Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau and several campus sponsors combined three events under one umbrella to create a festival of literature and film, a conference for English teachers on integrating literature and the arts, and a conference on writing and literature for elementary and secondary teachers. All three events celebrate Kansas writers and artists.

The conferences require registration fees, but the literature and film festival events, with one exception, will be free to the public. The Conference for New Literacies: Integrating Literature & the Arts will be Friday, Feb. 21, in the Lawrence Arts Center. For more information about the festival program, visit http://www.visitlawrence.com/.

Other February Festival speakers, panelists and presenters from Kansas and other states include:

DOUGLAS COUNTY

From Lawrence

Barry Barnes, guest performer, New Literacies Conference. Mike Caron, Douglas County Jail program director, guest presenter, New Literacies Conference.
Phyllis Copt, Free State High School, guest presenter, New Literacies Conference.
Brooke Finan, master's degree student in English, presenter, New Literacies Conference.
Daniel A. Hoyt, KU doctoral student in English, presenter, New Literacies Conference.
Kij Johnson, author, Bridging the Gap between Literature and Science panelist, 10:40 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, Carnegie Building.
Denise Low, Haskell Indian Nations University, Kansas' Poetic Landscape panelist, Saturday, Feb. 22, Carnegie Building; and guest presenter, New Literacies Conference, Friday, Feb. 21, Lawrence Arts Center.
Marilyn Mick-Palmer, First Step House, guest presenter, New Literacies Conference.
Andy Morton, senior in English, son of Jeanine L. Morton and graduate of Lawrence High School, playwright, staged readings of 10-minute plays by KU students.
Tiffany DeJaynes Ng, KU master's degree student in English, presenter, New Literacies Conference.
Jacqueline Stafford, Lawrence Public Schools, presenter, New Literacies Conference.
Whitney Terrell, author, A "Novel" Approach to Kansas panelist, Saturday, Feb. 22, Carnegie Building.

GEARY COUNTY
From Manhattan
Elizabeth Dodd and Matthew Webber, Kansas State University, guest presenters, New Literacies Conference.

JOHNSON COUNTY

From Olathe
Stacy Stephens, master's degree student in English, presenter, New Literacies Conference.

From Overland Park
Beth Lynn Dorsey, KU senior in English and anthropology, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Dorsey, presenter, New Literacies Conference.
Anjali Nerlekar, KU doctoral student in English, presenter, New Literacies Conference.

From Overland Park
Maureen Fitzpatrick, Beth Gulley, James McWard and Kevin Rabas, Johnson County Community College, guest presenters, New Literacies Conference.
Carmaletta Williams, Kansas' Poetic Landscape panelist, Saturday, Feb. 22, Carnegie Building; moderator, New Literacies Conference, Friday, Feb. 21, Lawrence Arts Center.

LYON COUNTY
From Emporia
Gary E. Holcomb, Marie Miller and Ken Prewitt all of Emporia State University, and Sue McKinnney, Emporia High School, guest presenters, New Literacies Conference.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY
From Independence Peter Ellenstein, William Inge Theatre Festival director, Kansas' Legacy in Theatre and Film panelist, Sunday, Feb. 23, Haskell auditorium

OSBOURNE COUNTY
From Downs
Moira Ozias, master's degree student in English, presenter, New Literacies Conference.

SHAWNEE COUNTY
From Washburn Rural High School, Topeka
Matt Copeland and Chris Goering Ð guest presenters, New Literacies Conference. Connie Corbett-Whittier, Friends University, Topeka campus, Celebrating Kansas Authors in the Classroom keynote address, 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, Kansas Union.

SEDGWICK COUNTY
From Wichita
Lois Ruby, author of "Steal Away Home" and "Soon Be Free," What's New in Young-Adult and Young-Adults and Children's Literature, Wednesday, Feb. 19, Kansas Union.
Debra Seely, Newman University, Kansas Stories & World Myths: Coming of Age in Kansas & Beyond, Saturday, Feb. 22, Carnegie Building.

WILSON COUNTY
From Neodesha
Bryan Claibourn, senior in theatre and film; Neodesha High School graduate. Playwright, staged readings of 10-minute plays by KU students, 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, Lawrence Arts Center.

CALIFORNIA
San Diego
Lynda Koolish, San Diego State University, photographer, screening of "Half-Past Autumn: The Life & Works of Gordon Parks" panelist, Saturday, Feb. 22, Lied Center.

CONNECTICUT
From Guilford
St. Clair Bourne, film screening "Half-Past Autumn," 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, Haskell Indian Nations University auditorium.

IOWA
From Lamoni
Judith Schieszer, Graceland University, guest presenter, New Literacies Conference.

GEORGIA
From Statesboro
Angela Crowe, Georgia Southern University, panelist, New Literacies Conference.

MARYLAND
From Chestertown
Robert Day, Washington College, author of "The Last Cattle Drive," "The Cold War in Kansas" luncheon address, Wednesday, Feb. 19, Kansas Union.

MICHIGAN
From Albion
Scott Hendrix, Albion College, New Literacies: Expanding the Boundaries panelist, Friday, Feb. 21, Lawrence Arts Center.

MINNESOTA
From Burtrum
Jill Zasandy, KU doctoral student in English, presenter, New Literacies Conference.

MISSOURI
From Cape Girardeau
Carol Scates, Southwest Missouri State University, guest presenter, New Literacies Conference.

From Joplin
Kirby Fields, doctoral student in English, son of Lynn Fields, playwright, staged readings of 10-minute plays by KU students.

From Kansas City
Charles Kovich and Patricia Cleary Miller, Rockhurst College, presenters, New Literacies Conference.
Chace Ramey, senior in English, son of Dick and Linda Ramey; graduate of Oak Park High School. Playwright, staged readings of 10-minute plays by KU students.

From Neosho
David Huffman, master's student in English, son of Mr. and Mrs. D.L. Huffman; Raytown Senior High School graduate. Playwright, staged readings of 10-minute plays by KU students.

MONTANA
From Bozeman
Kirk Branch, Montana State University, New Literacies: Expanding the Boundaries panelist, 8:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 21, Lawrence Arts Center.

NEW YORK
From New York City
Madison Lacy, independent film producer , screening of "Half-Past Autumn: The Life & Works of Gordon Parks" panelist, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, Lied Center; film screening, "Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel," 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, Haskell auditorium; Kansas' Legacy in Theatre and Film panelist, 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, Haskell auditorium.

PENNSYLVANIA
From Pittsburgh
Yona Harvey, Carnegie Mellon University, guest presenter, New Literacies Conference.

SOUTH DAKOTA
From Vermillion
Lisa Hazlett, University of South Dakota, What's New in Young-Adult and Children's Literature, Wednesday, Feb. 19, Kansas Union.

VERMONT
From Plainfield
Caryn Mirriam Goldberg, Goddard College, presenter, New Literacies Conference, Friday, Feb. 21, Lawrence Arts Center; Kansas Stories & World Myths: Coming of Age in Kansas & Beyond, Saturday, Feb. 22, Carnegie Building.

A full list of KU faculty participating in these events is available online.