Every year, we here in New Orleans have the distinct pleasure of spending a long weekend in the French Quarter listening to some of the country’s finest poets, novelists, and playwrights at the Tennessee Williams Festival. Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, TWF is as good as it’s ever been, if not better, featuring such noted guests as Mary Badham, Rick Bragg, and Beth Henley, and next weekend I’m delighted to moderate two panels on new writing here in the city. The festival runs from Wednesday, March 30 to Sunday, April 3; both these panels are on Sunday the 3rd.
The first, called “New New Orleans Writing,” will feature Addie Citchens, Katy Simpson Smith, and Nicholas Maineri, and will start at 1pm in the Hotel Monteleone Royal Ballroom. We’ll discuss each of these writers’ new books and their writing lives in the city, as well as contemporary literary culture in New Orleans, with new resources on area events provided for members of the audience.
The second, called “Poetry – The News that Stays News,” will feature poets Peter Cooley, Christopher Hannan, Caroline Randall Williams, and Mark Yakich, and will start at 2.30pm also in the Royal Ballroom. These four poets – both established and emerging — will read from their new works and speak about their calling and their craft.
More information about the panels, the speakers, and the festival are available on the festival website.
benjamin morris 