NEWS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS)
Date: February 11, 2005
For more information contact Dave Cazalet, (606) 679-8501, ext. 3882
Somerset CC's 2005 Arnow Conference to feature poetry by Diane Gilliam Fisher, fiction by Crystal Wilkinson, and music by Zoe Speaks
Somerset Community College (SCC) will be hosting the third annual Harriette Simpson Arnow Conference from March 31 to April 2, 2005 on the SCC Somerset Campus North. The theme of the 2005 conference will be "Pilgrims and strangers: the theme of displacement in Appalachian literature."
This year's theme is particularly appropriate because 2005 marks the 50th anniversary of the publishing of Arnow's classic novel, The Dollmaker, which is about a Kentucky family displaced to Detroit.
Belinda Gadd, English instructor, and chair of the Arnow Conference Committee this year, and other members of the committee have already put together the major guests for the 2005 event. Sharon Whitehead, SCC's McCreary Center Director, will be presenting a short segment from her role as Gertie Nevels from SCC English professor Betty Peterson's adaptation of Arnow's The Dollmaker on Thursday, March 31, at 7 p.m.
The conference has added music this year with a special appearance by Zoe Speaks. The members of the group are Mitch Barrett and Carla Gover.
Somerset Community College is soliciting proposals from academics and scholars for presentations at the Harriette Simpson Arnow Conference. For more information on submitting a proposal contact Crabtree at lynn.crabtree@kctcs.edu or call (606) 679-8501, ext. 3922.
Headlining the conference will be Kentucky writer Crystal Wilkinson. She will read from her works during the conference opening session on Friday, April 1, 2005. Wilkinson was raised in Indian Creek, Kentucky. She is the 2002 recipient of the Chaffin Award for Appalachian literature. She is a member of the Lexington-based writing collective, the Affralachian Poets. Her latest work is Water Street, which was recently a finalist for the prestigious Orange Prize. Wilkinson will be conducting a fiction workshop for conference participants on April 1.
Diane Gilliam Fisher, whose latest volume of poetry, Kettle Bottom, focuses on the 1920's coal mining wars, will also be a guest speaker at the Arnow Conference. Fisher holds a PhD in English and a MFA from Warren Wilson College. She grew up in Columbus, Ohio. Fisher will be hosting a poetry workshop for participants on April 1.
Jeanne McDonald and Fred Brown will be participating in the conference. McDonald has published fiction in magazines, journals and anthologies. She had co-written two books with her husband, Fred Brown. They are Growing up Southern and The Serpent Handlers. The latter won the Harry Caudill Award for journalistic reporting. McDonald published a novel of her own in 2003 entitled Water Dreams. Brown is a national endowment for the humanities fellow at the University of Michigan, a feature writer for the Knoxville News-Sentinel, and editor of Appalachian Life magazine.
Sidney Saylor Farr, who grew up in southeastern Kentucky, is the author of six books and numerous pieces of fiction and poetry. She is the former editor of Appalachian Heritage, a quarterly published by Berea College. This year she won the Appalachian Writers Association award for outstanding contributions to Appalachian literature. Farr will highlight the Saturday morning sessions.
The registration fee for the entire conference is $75 and includes lunch on Thursday and Friday, dinner with Zoe Speaks on Saturday. To attend Thursday only is $10. To attend Friday only is $55. Dinner with Zoe Speaks will be $20. Saturday with lunch is $30. Payment should be made to Somerset Community College, 808 Monticello Street, Somerset, KY 42501. Please register by March 1, 2005. For more information on registration call Judy Covey at (606) 679-8501, ext. 3920.
Somerset Community College is a comprehensive two-year institution of higher education. SCC has campuses in Somerset and London and centers in McCreary, Clinton, and Russell Counties. The website is www.somerset.kctcs.edu. Call for admission and registration information toll free at 1-877-629-9722.
The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) serves the Commonwealth through 16 community and technical college districts that form a seamless system of 65 campuses open or under construction. KCTCS colleges change lives by providing accessible and affordable education and training through academic and technical associate degrees; diploma and certificate programs in occupational fields; pre-baccalaureate education; adult, continuing and developmental education; customized training for business and industry; and distance learning. For more information, visit www.kctcs.edu.