“I came to earth already a poet and a lover of language, words, and literature. The minute I was able to use a pencil, I started on my path. I couldn't live if I couldn't write.”
This quote by Starkville author Laurie Parker is just one reason Starkville Community Theatre is hosting “An Evening Celebrating Mississippi Writers” this Friday evening. Our state and our community are rich with talented, successful, even legendary writers and SCT is happy to honor just a few.
“An Evening Celebrating Mississippi Writers” will feature local authors John W. Bateman, T.K. Lee, and Parker, each reading excerpts from their works, followed by a presentation of Tennessee Williams one-act play, “Something Unspoken,” featuring local performers Cherri Golden and Melanie Tubbs.
The event will start at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are on sale in advance and at the door Friday.
The evening with kick off with Bateman, Lee and Parker reading from a selected work, followed by a panel question and answer session. Before and following this panel, there will be a sales table in the lobby (provided by Book Mart & Cafe) with copies of the authors' works for sale.
After a brief intermission, Golden and Tubbs will present the drama “Something Unspoken.”
Williams (who was born in Columbus) centers his story around Miss Cornelia Scott, a grand but fading Southern belle whose outer extravagance belies inner insecurities, bringing her into conflict with her long-suffering personal secretary. The two women have a complex, codependent relationship, and during elections for their local chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy, tensions reach a tipping point.
SCT is excited to produce one of Williams’ lesser-known works, and to give a voice to three talented authors.
Parker, who will be reading from her latest novel, “Gently Scattered Intentions,” said she believes Mississippi’s “mysterious allure” helps cultivate strong writers.
"Having been a published author since 1996, spending countless time over the last 20 years of my life traveling around my home state to attend events where I sell books, I can honestly say that even the 'Average Joe' in Mississippi has a sincere reverence for our literary legacy,” Parker said.
“Time and again, I have heard people from all walks of life say, 'We need to support our Mississippi writers.' I truly think I couldn't have been born in a better place to be a writer. On perhaps a more poetical level, I also feel that our state has a mysterious allure, something in the trees that Wordsworth himself would have found inspiring! Tennessee Williams once said, 'Mississippi to me is the beauty spot of creation, a dark, wide spacious land that you can breathe in.' It could be that there's something in the water (and not just in Greenville) that makes the words flow better here," she added.
Bateman said he believes storytelling is just in the water here in Mississippi.
“Sometimes I think it's more like baptism by fire than nurturing. But maybe that doesn't matter. Storytelling is in the ground water. Just ask a local for directions: you learn where the old Wal Mart was, whose farm got bought for the bypass, the old house owned by __ who may or may not have had an affair with __, or whose spouse died under questionable circumstances.... I mean, there's a story hanging like a trumpet vine on every corner. Some are bit sweeter than that, of course,” Bateman said.
Lee pointed to a thriving arts scene when asked what makes Mississippi so unique when it comes to nurturing writers.
“We have a thriving arts presence in the state, and great strides have been made and are continuing to be made in that area,” Lee said. “Organizations like SCT, for instance, who are willing to take chances on new plays by emerging playwrights.”
When asked why people should come Friday evening, Bateman’s answer was straightforward, but simple.
“Imagine a town without the arts: no plays, no concerts, no murals, no choirs, no bands, no writers or photographers (which means no newspapers), no jazz brunch, no movie theatres,” he said. “Imagine what buildings and parks would be like without an artist behind them: cinderblocks. With nothing to do, would we even have restaurants? Would people even buy houses and live here? The arts are the lifeblood that keeps a community in existence. It's economics, pure and simple.”
Parker added, “It sounds like it will be a great event on several levels - a chance for the audience to hear readings from some local talent, to see a play, and to celebrate the literary genius of Tennessee Williams, a Mississippi native.”
And Lee said events such as this are another way to nurture Mississippi’s own talent.
“(This is) a wonderful way to make Mississippi unique in nurturing writers. Especially the exciting new voices,” Lee said.
Tickets for the event are $10, with all funds supporting programming at SCT. Seating is limited, and advance reservations may be made immediately by calling the box office at 662.323.6855. Please leave a message and someone will return your call. The box office will be open Thursday and Friday 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
Lee added, “For me personally, the arts, like science, like facts, will exist whether we believe in funding or supporting them. I can’t imagine for myself that had no one ever taught me of sculpture, or Rembrandt, or Tennessee Williams, or Millay, and so forth, that I wouldn’t still, all on my own, feel that pull to the page, that I wouldn’t create even if no one ever saw it or read it, an emotionally true representation (in a poem, or a play, story, etc.) and think of it as art. “
T.K. Lee’s award-winning work crosses several genres, for the stage, on stage, and off stage.
At times a playwright, and other times a poet, he is at all times firmly planted in the southern tradition of gothic storytelling. His work has appeared in national and international publications including The Louisville Review, Carolina Quarterly, Deep South Magazine, and his poetry and short fiction have been anthologized through collections published in the UK — most recently, his play On How To Accommodate Marlo’s Frying Pan will be published Spring 2019.. Lee has also been fortunate to have his short fiction translated into French and Italian.
No stranger to the stage, Lee has also won accolades for his work in independent theatre and through the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) as well as AACTFest where his award-winning credits include his roles as director (2009’s SETC winner Catfish Moon), actor (2017’s SETC winner; AACTFest nominee Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike), and playwright (2018’s SETC winner for original work, Paper Thin).
After receiving his MFA in 2015 from Spalding University in Louisville, KY, he immediately joined the faculty in the nascent MFA in Creative Writing program at MUW, teaching both undergraduate literature and creative writing, as well as playwriting and poetry. His first collection of poetry, entitled To Square a Circle, debuted this past October at the Eudora Welty Symposium and has garnered high critical praise for his “uncanny wit; impeccable sense of pacing and tone; bringing a dynamic new voice to southern poetry.”
For more information, please visit his website: www.tkleewriting.com or follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tkleewriting
