FAULKNER GEM TO SHINE AMID SOUTHERN LITERARY FESTIVAL

Daniel Straubel knew he had something powerful to lure the Southern Literary Festival north to the campus of Southeast Missouri State University.

"William Faulkner is the premier Southern writer, so having the Center for Faulkner Studies on our campus made us a real draw," said Straubel, who is the president for the 1994 Southern Literary Festival. "The Southern Literary Festival has always been in the South, but we're kind of on the borderline on the South so it's not that unusual that we would be the first university in Missouri to host it," he explained.

Another reason Southeast was chosen as host of the 1994 Southern Literary Festival is the amount of local talent. "There is so much talent right here, we had trouble fitting everybody in when we were making up the schedule," said Straubel.

The event, which was founded in 1937, is an annual celebration of literature and creative writing involving 25 colleges and universities throughout the South.

Registration will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. April 21 at the University Center.

The festival will open with a reading and discussion of Clifton Taulbert at 7:30 p.m. April 21 at the University Center. Taulbert is an autobiographical writer whose books include "Once Upon A time When We Were Colored" and "The Last Train North."

Registration will also take place April 22 at 8:30 a.m. at the University Center.

An awards presentation will be held at 9 a.m. April 22 for winners of the Southern Literary Festival Writing and Literary Magazine Contests for college students.

At 9:30 a.m. April 22, the winners of the Southern Literary Festival will read their winning entries.

At 10:30 a.m., April 22, the winning one-act play, directed by Don Schulte, professor of speech communication and theatre, will be presented.

At 11 a.m. April 22, Robert Hamblin, professor of English, will present "No such thing as was : William Faulkner and Southern History."

A native of Mississippi, Hamblin joined the Southeast faculty in 1965. He is director of the Center for Faulkner Studies at Southeast, one of four major Faulkner collections in the world.

Hamblin is also co-editor with L.D. Brodsky, of eight scholarly books and journals on William Faulkner titled, "Faulkner : A Comprehensive Guide to the Brodsky Collection. He is an author of a book of poetry, "From the Ground Up", which contains 48 poems on a variety of subjects including childhood, love, family, travel and nature. He has also written a biography "Win or Win : A Season with Ron Shumate."

Taulbert will speak again after a noon luncheon on April 22. The discussion is free. Tickets for the luncheon may be purchased for $8.50 and reservations must be received by April 15. For more information call Marge Phillips at (314) 651-2176.

At 1:45 p.m., April 22, two concurrent sessions will be held. Ted Hirschfield, assistant professor of English at Southeast, will read from "Human Weather", a collection of poems that sequesters the passions and contradictions of life into four phases : time and place, love, philosophy and religion. Hirschfield will also read from his recently published book "German Requiem."

Aaron Horrell, a member of the Cape Girardeau Writer's Guild, will make a presentation for young writers.

At 2:45 p.m., April 22, two concurrent sessions will be held. Benjamin Bates, instructor of English at Southeast, will discuss African-American writing and present "Black Dialect : An Alternate View."

A workshop for aspiring writers will also be presented by editors of the "Cape Rock", a journal of poems and photography published by Southeast's Department of English.

At 3:45 p.m., April 22, two concurrent sessions will be held. Betty Drinnon, instructor of English, Pamela Hearn, professor of English, and Sharon Bebout, assistant professor of speech communication and theatre, will conduct a panel discussion on the work of women writers.

A reader's theatre will be held that will feature dramatizations of selections from "Journey", Southeast's literary magazine. The dramatization is produced and directed by Roseanna Whitlow, a part-time Southeast instructor, director and playwright.

The festival will conclude for the day with Bobbie Ann Mason, novelist and short story writer, discussing her fiction at 7:30 p.m.

Like many of America's great writers, Bobbie Ann Mason focuses on a small geographical area. Mason's award-winning stories and novels, including the bestselling "In Country", draw their power from the author's sensitivity and affection for the people and landscape of Western Kentucky. By exploring the rich culture of that region, Mason produces moving works of literature that reveal universal truths of the human condition.

She has also published "Feather Crowns", a marked departure from her earlier work. Although still rooted in rural Kentucky, "Feather Crowns" is Mason's first book set in the past.

At 9:15 a.m., April 23, Nolan Porterfield, professor of English at Southeast, will read from and discuss his fiction. Porterfield is the author of "A Way of Knowing" and a biography, "Jimmie Rodgers : The Life and Times of America's Blue Yonder."

At 10:15 a.m., April 23, Jerry Ellis, a playwright and autobiographical writer, will discuss his reading and hold a workshop.

The festival will come to a close at 11:15 a.m. with a discussion focusing on regional literature and culture.

The fesitval is free and open to the public. Parking will be available across from Henderson Street and in other visitor lots with shuttle buses running to the University Center. For more information call Daniel Straubel at (314) 651-2641.

The program is supported in part by grants from the Missouri Humanities Council and the Missouri Arts Council.