Literati Glitterati

Anne Pincus with Faulkner Society founders Joe DeSalvo and Rosemary James

Terry and Lindsey Maxon

Lee Pryor, Julie Smith, Moira Crone and Rodger Kamenetz

Roy Blount Jr. and Michael Malone

Robby, Nancy and Hartwig Moss III

The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society “Words & Music 2007” was a five-day festival packed with events, classes, lunches and lectures celebrating all aspects of the written word.

The highlight of the first day of the festival, Wednesday, Nov. 14, was a class for high school creative writing students and teachers. The festival got into full-swing on Thursday, with a discussion, “Pan-American Voices,” with Loida Maritza Peréz and Marie Arana of The Washington Post. 

Friday the festival screened “Sugar Babies” as part of the “When Cultures Collide” session. The film, a documentary by Amy Serrano, analyzes slavery in the modern-day sugar trade.

A vast change of pace, Friday’s events also featured a session with Roy Blount, Jr., who provided a humorous look at events of the Civil War.

Saturday’s crowning event was the “Faulkner for All!” celebration, which featured cocktails, entertainment, dancing, and the presentation of awards.

Notably, Nancy R. Moss was honored with the 2007 ALIHOT (“A Legend in His/Her Own Time”) award for her distinguished service to the arts. Humorists Roy Blount, Jr. and Michael Malone received ALIHOT awards for literature.

Sunday, Nov. 18, the final day of the festival, Iranian-born author Reza Aslan hosted a seminar, discussing pertinent issues of religion and the Middle East.
   
The festival’s final event, held at the Hermann-Grima House, featured an annual improvisational storytelling competition, led by honoree Roy Blount, Jr. One participant told his impromptu story in verse, drawing “Words & Music 2007” to a symbolic close.

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