Director's Column

Eudora Welty's literary genius was recognized earlier this year by France as Gerard Blanchot, Consul General of France, bestowed his nation's highest accolade, the Legion of Honor, upon her. Richard Ford, William Winter, and hundreds of other admirers gathered at the Old Capitol in Jackson to witness the presentation of the award. Literary scholar Danielle Pitavy and filmmaker Catherine Berge traveled from France to join the celebration, and each spoke eloquently about the importance of Welty's life and work in their country.

On May 1-3, in another historic tribute to Welty, the first Eudora Welty Film and Fiction Festival was held in Jackson with the theme "Eudora Welty's Sense of Place." Organized by Jo Barksdale, the festival featured an amazing number of fine writers who gathered to read their work in tribute to Welty. In the opening ceremony outside the Welty home Richard Ford, Thomas Harris, and Willie Morris each spoke, and Ford, who grew up in a home across the street from the Welty home, remarked "It's good for us to know that genius . . . is local and human."

Distinguished writers, artists, and critics featured on the Welty program included Margaret Walker Alexander, John Armistead, Jeff Baker, Angela Ball, Marion Barnwell, Rick Bass, Terry Blackstock, Elizabeth Bowne, Jo Brans, John Gregory Brown, Bethany Bultman, Price Caldwell, Will Campbell, Michelle Chalfoun, Susan Clark, Rick Cleveland, Linda Cooper, Max Dendermonde, Ben Douglas, Ellen Douglas, Tony Dunbar, Clyde Edgerton, Carolyn Elkins, Terry Everett, Mary Leigh Furrh, Shelby Foote, Pat Grierson, Tom Grimes, Arthur Guyton, Dee Jones, Carolyn Haines, Susan Halstom, Alfredteen Harrison, Lorian Hemingway, John Horhn, Rebecca Hood-Adams, Lew Hunter, Susan Ketchin, Nancy Kincaid, Suzanne Kirk, Beverly Lowry, Richard Lyons, Jim Majure, Rebecca Marks, Suzanne Marrs, Carolyn Martin, Jill McCorkle, Tim McLaurin, Shelly Fraizer Mickle, Adam David Miller, Bill Minor, James Morgan, Katherine Mosby, Barry Moser, Gary Myers, Leslie Myers, Lewis Nordan, Gloria Norris, Ann Patchett, James Patterson, Pat Pattison, Linda Peavy, Jack Phillips, Jayne Anne Phillips, Cynthia Profilet, Christi Rucker, David Sansing, Elizabeth Sarcone, Doris Evans Saunders, Valerie Sayers, Tim Seldes, Dorothy Shawhan, Carolyn Vance Smith, Julie Smith, Clayton Sullivan, Yvonne Tomek, Marianne Walker, William Wallis, Ashley Warlick, Judy Daniels Wiggins, Joan Williams, Charles Wilson, Christine Wiltz, Margaret E. Woodward, and Billie Jean Young. Each spoke with love about Eudora Welty and the inspiration she has provided to writers and readers.

Congratulations to Lisa Howorth whose wonderful new book Yellow Dogs, Hushpuppies, and Bluetick Hounds provides both a thoughtful and a humorous perspective on Southern culture. In her recent interview with Noah Adams on National Public Radio, Lisa discussed the making of the book and her research in gathering its questions. Like her earlier The South: A Treasury of Art and Literature, this volume demonstrates Lisa's skill as a writer and her knowledge of the region's culture.

This past month several hundred friends gathered at Oxford's famed Hoka to salute its founder, Ron Shapiro, and to celebrate the Hoka's 20th anniversary. As a restaurant, coffee shop, and theater the Hoka is a unique institution where writers like Willie Morris and Barry Hannah have spent many hours. It has featured productions of new plays by Larry Brown and Barry Hannah and has provided a cultural shelter for many of us.

Oxford is especially proud of Square Books and the Southside Gallery, but there was a time when attempts to launch a bookstore and an art gallery in Oxford both failed. The Hoka was the first institution that signaled the coming of a new era in the town's history. Opening with a screening of Charlie Chaplain's City Lights, Shapiro's Hoka is a unique institution where diversity, tolerance, and creativity are welcome. With its motto "No shirt. No Shoes. Who Cares!" the Hoka offers Oxford an important alternative world. Ron Shapiro has enriched our community in so many ways, and we all salute Ron and his new partner, Lois Lovelady, and look forward to the Hoka's next 20 years.

William Ferris