Early comers to the conference attended the Thursday night champagne-gala
opening of the stage version of Oxford author Larry Brown s novel Dirty Work at
the Hoka Theatre. Written by Brown and Richard Corley, the stage version
originally played at the Arena Stage in Washington in 1994. The Oxford production
was directed by Scott McCoy, professor of Theatre Arts at the University. McCoy
conducted a nationwide search to bring together some of the finest young acting
talent from such places as Dallas, Chicago, and New Albany, Mississippi, for the
Oxford production.
Friday morning, Barry Hannah, writer in residence at the University, instructed a packed room of aspiring writers on such topics as working with an editor and submitting a manuscript. For this popular event, Hannah was joined by publishers Nan A. Talese of Doubleday and David R. Godine of David R. Godine, Publisher, and writers Jennifer Allen, Andrei Codrescu, Mark Richard, and Geoffrey Wolff.
Friday afternoon, Darden Asbury Pyron, professor of History at Florida International University and author of Southern Daughter: The Life of Margaret Mitchell, delivered an insightful and enthusiastic lecture on Mitchell s book preferences, her encyclopedia-like knowledge and attention to detail, and her salacious interest in sexuality. Pyron compared Mitchell s Gone with the Wind to her favorite novel, Hemingway s A Farewell to Arms. Among Mitchell s other influences, Pyron named Aldous Huxley, whose style of realism she emulated. Pyron added that Mitchell s style was Huxley s style stripped and stylized even more.
Later Friday afternoon, Elaine H. Scott, chairperson of the Arkansas Board of Education and recipient of the Reading Is Fundamental Leader for Literacy Award in 1994, moderated a panel discussion on literacy issues. Children s author Mary Lyn Ray recounted her own life as a young reader and discussed her involvement with community and schools as a children s author. James Parins, founder of the Student Literacy Corps at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, discussed the benefits of preparing and organizing college students to teach literacy in the community. Literacy programs are a way to get the community together, said Parins. Through our program, 450 students and community volunteers have worked with over 800 literacy students. In his presentation, George Penick, president of the Foundation for the Mid South, described the private sector organization, which encompasses Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas, as a means through which the three states, demographically and socially alike, can work together. The Foundation s goal is to work from the perspective of what communities want for themselves and how we can help them achieve their goals, explained Penick. We are looking for opportunities within communities rather than problems.
On Friday night, conference participants joined members of the Southern Literary Festival for remarks by critically acclaimed novelist Pat Conroy. Nan Talese, the author s editor and publisher, gave a spirited introduction. She began by noting that she and Conroy felt as if they had just been released from prison and were ready to celebrate: the day before, they completed 11 weeks of working together night and day to revise and trim the 2200-page manuscript of Beach Music, a novel in the making for five years and scheduled to be released in mid-June. Tonight the introduction and the reading will be reversed, said Talese. I ll read from Beach Music and then Pat will come out and tell you about himself. In his compelling master storytelling style, Conroy led the audience through his life as an author. Along the way, he introduced to the audience key people who have influenced his writing: Eugene Norris, the high school English teacher who first realized Conroy s talent; Don Conroy, his father on whom the book The Great Santini was based; Julian Bach, his agent; and Talese. Saturday morning, Conroy joined his father, Talese, Bach, Norris, and Doubleday publisher Marly Rusoff for a lively panel discussion on getting a book to readers.
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