Catherine Frank

Tennessee Williams Literary Festival Announces Today's Events

Particularly in light of the 2016 documentary I Am Not Your Negro, author and civil rights activist James Baldwin is garnering new attention and appreciation for his astute analyses of race, class, and sexuality in U.S. culture. Our reading group will take up his groundbreaking semi-autobiographical first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953). Attendees are invited to read this seminal text that brought mid-20th Century African-American literature out of the shadow of Richard Wright while deftly exploring the post-Civil War Great Migration, its southern roots, its religious inflections, and its generational tensions. The suggested edition is the most recent paperback (ISBN 978-0345806543). Traditional New Orleans fare of coffee and beignets at Muriel's Jackson Square with lively discussion to follow led by Festival favorite and Southern literary scholar Gary Richards. Seating is limited to 50 persons; pre-registration is required.

New Book Urges Readers to Live Courageously

One of the things that author C.T. Franklin has noticed throughout her years as a counselor is that young people could feel that life is hopeless and give up without a fight. Which is why in 'THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE' (published by Xlibris UK) she uses her years of counseling experience to create a story that gives strength and courage to suffering youth all over the world.