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Editor's note: Scanned photos of Gordon Parks and Paule Marshall are available from University Relations (785) 864-8853.
LAWRENCE -- To celebrate literature and art in Kansas, Lawrence and University of Kansas sponsors are preparing a five-day Langston Hughes February Festival, Feb. 19 through 23, that includes two writing conferences and a film festival.
Speakers invited include native Kansan Gordon Parks, nationally recognized photographer, composer and author of "The Learning Tree"; MacArthur Award winner and author of "The Fisher King," Paule Marshall of New York University; and KU alumnus and author of "The Last Cattle Drive," Robert Day of Washington College, Chestertown, Md.
In addition, two films will have Lawrence premieres as part of the festival: "Confederate States of America" by Kevin Willmott, KU assistant professor of theatre and film, and "Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel" by Madison Lacy, independent film producer, New York. McDaniel, who won an Academy Award for her role in "Gone with the Wind," was born in Wichita.
Parks, born in Fort Scott in 1912, has been invited to speak at the Lied Center at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, about his illustrious career and the influence of his native Kansas on his works. 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.
Onstage to discuss with Park his career and work will be Lacy, producer; Lynda Koolish, photographer and author, San Diego State University; Maurice Bryan Jr., KU director of Equal Opportunity and a Ph.D. candidate whose research focuses on Parks; and J. Edgar Tidwell, KU associate professor of English and author.
"The February Festival idea grew out of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Langston Hughes last year," Graham explained.
The success and goodwill created in the community and on campus from the 100th anniversary events prompted several in the community to suggest that Lawrence annually recognize Hughes, Graham said. Born Feb. 1, 1902, Hughes came to Lawrence as an infant with his mother, who had attended KU and whose home was in Lawrence.
Kansas has nurtured many renowned writers, filmmakers and artists, from William Inge to Hattie McDaniel to Gordon Parks, Graham explained.
"With the help of the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau and several campus sponsors, we combined under one umbrella a festival of literature and film, a conference for English teachers on new literacies: integrating literature and the arts; and a conference on writing and literature for elementary and secondary teachers," Graham said. "All three events celebrate Kansas writers and artists."
The conferences require registration fees, but the literature and film festival events, with the exception of the premiere of Willmott's film, will be free to the public.
KU's 23rd Conference on Writing & Literature for elementary and secondary teachers of English and language arts kicks off the February Festival events Feb. 19 and 20 in the Kansas Room of the Kansas Union. Day will speak at 1:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, for conference attendees. More information is available at www.writingconference.com.
The literature and film portion of the festival opens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, in the Kansas Union ballroom with Marshall 's speech 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 supported by the Frances and Floyd Horowitz Lecture Fund. More information is available online.
The literature and film festival includes 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., followed at 8 p.m. by the premiere of "Confederate States of America" at Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts St. Admission will be charged for Willmott's film, which examines what the United States would be like had the South won the Civil War.
The festival continues on Saturday with programs beginning at 9:15 a.m. in the Carnegie Building, 9th and Vermont streets, and concludes with "An Evening Honoring Gordon Parks" in the Lied Center at KU.
On Sunday, Feb. 23, films by Lacy; St. Clair Bourne, Guilford, Conn.; and Pok-Chi Lau, KU associate professor of design, will be shown from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Haskell Indian Nations University auditorium, 155 Indian Ave. A panel discussion follows with Lacy; Willmott; John Gronbeck-Tedesco, KU professor of theatre and film; Lau; and Paul Ellenstein, director of the William Inge Theatre Festival in Independence, Kan.
The Conference on New Literacies runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, in the new Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St. The program marks the 50th anniversary of a KU English department event formerly known as the Conference on Composition and Literature. The 2003 program focuses on how literature and the arts interact to expand and challenge traditional viewpoints -- such as using dance to interpret poetry. Program information is available online.
Festival sponsors include the Kansas Humanities Council and the KU provost's office, KU's English department, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Office of Admissions and Scholarships, and Continuing Education.
More information about all events is available online.
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