GEORGIA LITERARY FESTIVAL
VISITS
SPARTA AND HANCOCK COUNTY
AUGUST 3, 2002
10:00 a.m. to noon Presentations on Hancock County's Literary Heritage
Courthouse
John
Rozier, Local Historian
Kent
Anderson Leslie, Agnes Scott College
Charles
Scruggs, University of Arizona
Carlton Morse, Native
of Sparta, Resident of Fort Valley
All
day
Book Fair on first floor of courthouse
Noon
Holcombs
BBQ for those who pre-register & pay $5 Courthouse
1 p.m.
African American
Folktales Performed by Akbar Imhotep Library
1 to 4 p.m. Ramble to Literary Sites in Hancock County
Sparta/county
In Sparta, Mt. Zion Church, Dickson
Place, Covey Rise
3 p.m.
African American
Folktales Performed by Akbar Imhotep Library
On August
3, 2002 the Georgia Literary Festival (formerly known as the
Eatonton Literary Festival) will hold its annual pilgrimage in Sparta rather than
Eatonton. Co-sponsors of the daylong
event include the Sparta—Hancock Area
Revitalization and Empowerment Board directed by Ms. Cleventeen
Walker and the Sparta—Hancock
County Historical Society, directed by Ms. Catherine Cook. Rather than focus on Joel Chandler Harris,
Alice Walker, and Flannery O'Connor, as has been the case for the three
previous Festivals, this year's event will center on Jean Toomer
and other writers connected with Hancock County.
During 1921, Toomer
taught at the Sparta Agricultural and Industrial School, and from
this experience wrote Cane, which is one of the seminal works of the
Harlem Renaissance. The 2002 Georgia
Literary Festival will celebrate Cane.
It will also recognize significant writers from the area including
Richard Malcolm Johnston of Dukesboro Tales
fame, the Beman brothers of Mt. Zion Church, as well as
novelist Joe David Brown of Covey Rise Farm who wrote Paper Moon.
On the day of the festival, talks will
occur in the morning in the courtroom of the Hancock County Courthouse. Local historian John Rozier
will speak on the literary heritage of Hancock.
Professor Kent Anderson Leslie of the Department of History, Agnes Scott College, will discuss
Amanda America Dickson and her ties to Nathan Toomer. Professor Charles Scruggs of the Department
of English, University of Arizona, will
evaluate how Sparta influenced
the writing of Cane. Native Hancock
Countian Carlton Morse of Fort Valley State
University will discuss life as a student and principal at Sparta A & I in the years after Toomer's
affiliation.
A book fair will occur on the first
floor of the striking and historic Hancock County courthouse
which will serve as the headquarters for the day-long free event.
In the afternoon Festival attendees can
take self-guided tours of sites relating to the literary heritage of Hancock County. In Sparta patrons will visit the new museum created
by the SHARE Board, the headquarters of the local historical society in the old
county jail, the Richard Malcolm Johnston House on Maiden Lane, Sparta A &
I, and other sites referenced by Toomer in Cane. In the county, docents will be on site at Mt. Zion Church, the Dickson
family place, and Covey Rise Farm. At 1
and 3 p.m., the noted storyteller Akbar Imhotep will present the African American folktales made
popular by Harris in performances at the Sparta—Hancock County Library which is
a branch of the Uncle Remus Library System.
In keeping with the Georgia Literary
Festival's statewide approach, next year's event will travel to Madison on August 2, 2003 where it will celebrate the
comic writer of the early republic, William Tappen
Thompson, and the postwar novelist Raymond Andrews among others.
All events are free and open to the
public. A boxed lunch by Holcombs BBQ of White Plains that includes a barbecue
sandwich, slaw, chips, and tea will be available for people who pre-register on
this form and pay a $5 fee per lunch to the Georgia Literary Festival, P. O. Box
4595, Eatonton, GA. 31024 by July
29, 2002. Please note that
the canceled check will serve as a receipt.
For additional registrations, please copy this form and share it with
others. Any donations received support
the work of the nonprofit Festival and are completely tax deductible. We hope to see you in Sparta on August
3rd.
GEORGIA LITERARY FESTIVAL
August
3, 2002
NAME:
___________________________________________________________
ADDRESS:
___________________________________________________________
CITY:
___________________________ STATE ________ ZIP_____________
HOME
TELEPHONE_________________________ WORK TELEPHONE_______________
AMOUNT ENCLOSED FOR LUNCH:
$_______________
CONTRIBUTION TO THE FESTIVAL:
$_______________
TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED:
$_______________
Please
send checks to: Georgia Literary Festival, P.O. Box 4595, Eatonton, GA, 31024. Thanks!