March 22, 2012
19th Oxford Conference for the Book
The 2012 Oxford Conference for the Book will be the 19th annual event to celebrate books, reading and writing while also examining the practical concerns on which the literary arts and the humanities depend, including literacy, freedom of expression and the state of publishing.
The Conference for the Book will open with a lunch and lecture on the history of the book in the United States by scholar David D. Hall. That afternoon Beth Ann Fennelly will host a celebration of National Poetry Month, joined by poets Nicole Cooley and Brad Richard. Immediately following will be a Writers Conversation between author Richard Ford and current John and Renée Grisham Writer in Residence, Josh Weil. A panel moderated by Charles Reagan Wilson entitled “Writing Black Freedom Movements” will include Randall Jelks and Allen Tullos.That evening a special Thacker Mountain Radio show will feature author and musician Bobby Keys along with Charlie Winton. A cocktail reception will follow at the Barksdale-Isom Place.
Each year, two Friday morning sessions are devoted to educational programming and the celebration of literature for young people. All Oxford-area fifth- and ninth-grade students (nearly 1,000 readers) receive their own copies of books by the visitors and go to the conference to hear the authors speak about writing and reading. Elise Broach will discuss her book Masterpiece with fifth graders, and James Dashner will speak to ninth graders about The Maze Runner.
At noon on Friday, participants can attend a Poetry Craft Talk and Lunch with Nicole Cooley at the Lafayette County Oxford Public Library. Other Friday activities include a panel moderated by W. Ralph Eubanks entitled “Geography in Fiction: Real and Imagined” with writers Steve Yarbrough and Frederick Reuss, as well as a panel on writing biographies, moderated by Curtis Wilkie and including Howell Raines, John Aloysius Farrell and Jon Meacham. Melissa Fay Greene will participate in a reading and discussion moderated by Lyn Roberts. At 6 p.m. on Friday evening, Square Books will host a reception and book signing.
Saturday panels include commentary on the future of reading and literacy with Elaine H. Scott and Claiborne Barksdale, followed by a panel on “The Urge Toward Memoir,” which will be moderated by Bill Dunlap and include Winston Groom, Howell Raines, Julia Reed and Norma Watkins. Following the memoir panel, Anya Groner and other writers will discuss blogging and online publishing. After lunch, John T. Edge of the Southern Foodways Alliance will lead a talk about food writing featuring Brett Anderson of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Kim Severson of the New York Times and Randy Fertel, whose new book, The Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak, has garnered much attention.
The conference will come to a close with an afternoon panel on the future of publishing with Square Books owner, Richard Howorth, and Barbara Epler and Declan Spring of New Directions Publications, followed by a reading moderated by Tom Franklin.
Various sites, Oxford, MS
No cost for programs funded by the Mississippi Humanities Council
Sponsored by The University of Mississippi, with support from the Mississippi Humanities Council
For more information:
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