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TWLF tip #4-


For those know-it-all locals, you might have noticed that #3 and #4 of my TWLF picks are two panels moderated by the fabulous Diana Pinckley and John Pope, respectively. The couple is the coolest literary couple in the city and although I don’t necessarily associate moderation with either of them, I know they can host the heck out of any get together. Check these panels out just because they don’t handle boring very well so will do their best to achieve the opposite effect.

10:00 AM-11:15 AM
The Right to Write: Blacklisting and Its Repercussions

The blacklist ruined dozens of careers during its heyday from the late 1940s until the early 1960s. Panelists will put blacklisting in a historic context, discuss the impact on its victims, and identify some of its lingering effects.

Panelists: Michael Bernstein, Lou Dubose, and Victor Navasky
Moderator: John Pope

Location: Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom
Ticket Code(s): AllAccessPass, LitPanelPass, StudentPanPass, Sr/TeachPanPass, DayPanelPassSat
Ticket Type(s): All Access Pass, Literary Panel Pass, Student Panel Pass, Teacher/Senior Citizen Literary Panel Pass, One Day Festival Panel Pass, Single Panel Ticket (only available on site)
Price: $10 (Single Ticket Event: only available on site), or included in All Access Pass ($500), Festival Panel Pass ($75), or Day Panel Pass ($30)

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TWLF tip #3

Bet You Can’t Read Just One: Mysteries for Fun

There are so many mystery novels, so little time. These four writers, all from very different genres, give us a privileged glimpse into their craft. Ace Atkins’ prime territory has been the South in his hard-boiled novels, though now he is also taking on Robert Parker’s Spenser franchise. Barbara Hambly has created the evocative world of the Free People of Color in her Benjamin January series. Greg Herren’s novels are exuberant portraits of gay life in New Orleans, and C.S. Harris brings her historian’s training to bear on exquisitely crafted mysteries set in Regency England.

Panelists: Ace Atkins, Barbara Hambly, C.S Harris, and Greg Herren.
Moderator: Diana Pinckley.

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The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society events

The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society, Inc.
624 Pirate’s Alley

The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society and the Louisiana State Museum have an words and music event today at the Cabildo, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
The event will feature fiction writers Lucy Ferris and Moira Crone and poet Andy Young.
Noted jazz pianist and composer Victor “Red” Atkins will peform his new suite of music inspired by and named
for William Faulkner’s famous short story, Barn Burning.
The event will include free refreshments.

Save The Dates
Tuesday, April 24
My New Orleans series opens. Writers invited to appear all have new books out with New Orleans related material.

Tuesday, May 1
Postmark Deadline for entries in the 2012 William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition.

Saturday, June 9
Juleps in June, 2012, featuring literary guest of honor and author of the new novel Canada, Richard Ford, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature and the Pen/Faulkner award. Mary Helen Lagasse, who is both an author and a fine artist is creating the 2012 Faulkner painting to be auctioned at the event. Ms. Lagasse, who paints in the old master tradition of multi-levels of oil color layered, is departing from the usual pattern of a portrait and creating a still life
of Faulkner’s workspace.

Wednesday, November 14 – Sunday, November 18
Words & Music, a Literary Feast in New Orleans will feature special guest of honor, Louisiana fiction writer
Ernest Gaines, author of A Lesson Before Dying and other masterpieces of fiction.

To learn more check wordsandmusic.org

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TWLF tip #2

For a few dollars, you can enter for many chances to win their 2012 Festival library (worth over $2,000).
There are also some great runner-up prizes.
The Grand Prize includes:
Over 50 prize-winning books by Festival authors including signed copies by the likes of Ace Atkins, NPR’s Amy Dickinson, Zachary Lazar, John Mariani, National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward, and many others!
A subscription to Louisiana Cultural Vistas
DVDs of New Orleans Food Memories and Win Riley’s Walker Percy
CDs of American Routes with Nick Spitzer: Songs and Stories from the Road and Our New Orleans 2005: A Benefit Album

For a chance to win these prizes, buy a raffle ticket ($5) or three ($10).

During the Festival: at the Info Desk onsite at the Hotel Monteleone.

If you can’t make it to the Festival, buy your tickets ONLINE. You don’t have to be present to win but be sure to buy your raffle tickets online before the end of Sunday March 25, 2012.
Price: 3 tickets for $10 ($8 plus $2 ticketing fee). You must purchase a minimum of 3 tickets online.
Ticket code: 3RaffleTickets
Buy Tickets

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TWLF tip#1

Among the lengthy list of events that the Tennessee Williams Festival has planned for next week are a few that deserve to be highlighted. So today through Thursday (TWLF opening day) I’ll pick one that looks particularly good.
The tip for today is for one of the theater events. Tickets are half price through Tuesday (only 17.50)

Hiding in Plain Sight: Tennessee Williams’ Treasures
Some of Tennessee’s most beautiful writing is “hidden” in some of his lesser-known works as well as within his most famous plays. Now, in an evening that’s not-to-be-missed, luminaries of the page and stage gather to share some of the playwright’s unsung treasures.

Reading gems culled from full-length plays, one-acts, letters, and essays, actress Piper Laurie, playwright John Guare, actress Amanda Plummer, author Jewelle Gomez, columnist Amy Dickinson, director and actress Jodie Markell, actress Cristine McMurdo-Wallis, author Ace Atkins, and others will take a closer look at the Williams canon and bring his words to life with an evening of readings from well-known plays including Suddenly Last Summer and The Night of the Iguana, as well as remarkable monologues and scenes from plays you might not be as familiar with such as Candles to the Sun, Clothes for a Summer Hotel, Not About Nightingales, Tiger Tail, The Fat Man’s Wife, The Day on Which a Man Dies, Will Mr. Merriwether Return from Memphis? and Something Cloudy, Something Clear.

This theatrical treasure hunt offers an entertaining and surprising look at Williams’ legacy.

Hosted by Thomas Keith, and curated by Keith and Paul J. Willis.

Sponsored by the Bollinger Family Foundation.

Date: Saturday
Time: 8:00 PM-10:00 PM
Location: Hotel Monteleone, La Nouvelle Ballroom
Ticket Code(s): AllAccessPass, HidingSat8pm
Ticket Type(s): All Access Pass, Individual Special Event Ticket
Price: $35

buy tickets

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French Market Fare

I’m always surprised when I happen over to the French Market and find music or cooking demos. Mostly because you would think they would work to make damn sure that locals know about them. In any case, I am not sure why they have chosen the spot where they do demos- oh wait a minute – that was where we used to stage the Crescent City Farmers Market once a week. I wonder if it has anything to do with that?

I’ll be in the Quarter for a week or two full-time during Tennessee Williams Festivals days and then back for the French Quarter Festival. I’ll be sure to spend time in the French Market, looking at local artists wares and maybe picking up a new flag to hang on my house for JazzFest. If you haven’t done that recently, give it another chance.

Market events

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Time for Tennessee

As I wait for the heat and humidity to return (yes I do like them), I also wait for the return at least one fair and two festivals: The New Orleans Bookfair, the French Quarter Festival (sorry JazzFest, you’ve lost my complete loyalty when you went past 50 bucks a day and invited Bon Jovi) and The Tennessee Williams Festival. Interestingly, the festivals fall within a few weeks of each other (TWLF at the end of March, and FQF in mid April) and both are held in the Quarter. (Well whaddya know?)
TWLF is a glorious few days of panels, plays and tours (and mint juleps, don’t forget the mint juleps) all held within the French Quarter of course. The date coincides with the birth date of TW, and the entire event ends on Sunday with a round of happy birthday to Tom. The schedule is usually packed with Southern authors, playwrights, editors and publishers, Tennessee Williams scholars and yes, even a few pompous, idle seersucker-wearin’ Southerners who truly believe they make the event when they arrive and pointedly stand in the lobby or at the front of the room in full sight and earshot of everyone. They do throw some historical perspective on class in New Orleans, so even they are a welcome sight. Sure.
It’s not all about TW, but it remains rooted in the context of his New Orleans and the Southern literary sensibility, which, in my mind, makes it very special and dynamic.
The TWLF event that most people know is the Stella contest, held on Jackson Square on Sunday afternoon with that year’s chosen Stella on the balcony auditioning her Stanleys shouting for her below. So make a point to listen in to Stanley and Stella especially cuz its free, but as literary festivals go this one is world-class and deserves more of your attention. Check out the schedule and I’ll save you a seat:

TWLF