Special to the Democrat

Nearly three dozen programs, films, workshops, seminars and discussion sessions will focus on &uot;Scoundrels to Statesmen: Politics in the Deep South,&uot; the theme of the 15th annual Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration.

The event, to be held Feb. 25-29, is sponsored by Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Natchez National Historical Park, Mississippi Department of Archives and History and Mississippi Public Broadcasting.

A three-part pre-conference seminar costing $10 will take place the morning of Feb. 25 at Co-Lin. Concentrating on reading, teaching and studying William Faulkner and Margaret Walker Alexander, the seminar features three scholars.

They are Faulkner scholar Noel Polk of the University of Southern Mississippi and Walker scholars Maryemma Graham of the University of Kansas and Alferdteen Harrison of Jackson State University.

At 11 a.m. that day, Co-Lin’s Student Support Services will join Co-Lin and the NLCC to present a free panel discussion called &uot;Careers in the Public Arena: All about Relationships.&uot;

On the panel are Stuart Margolin, Natchez actor/producer and Emmy Award winner famous for his role in &uot;The Rockford Files;&uot; Clifton Taulbert of Tulsa, Mississippi-born Pulitzer Prize nominee and author of &uot;Eight Habits of the Heart&uot; and numerous other books; and Natasha Trethewey, native Mississippian and award-winning poet who is creative writing professor at Emory University, Atlanta, and author of &uot;Domestic Work&uot; and other books of poetry.

The conference officially begins at 2 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Natchez Convention Center on Main Street. Kickoff speaker is former Mississippi Gov.William F. Winter of Jackson, whose topic is &uot;The Evolution of Politics in the Deep South.&uot;

Other programs on Feb. 25 are by:

Robert V. Haynes, Western Kentucky University, &uot;Political Leaders during Mississippi Territorial Times.&uot;

Paul Stekler, University of Texas at Austin, editor/producer of the film, &uot;The Political Education of Maggie Lauterer,&uot; part of the documentary &uot;Vote for Me: Politics in America.&uot;

Other dates, speakers, films and program titles include:

Thurs., Feb. 26, 2004

Robert E. May, Purdue University, &uot;John A. Quitman of antebellum Natchez: Dis-Unionist or Patriot?&uot;

Chester M. Morgan, Delta State University, Cleveland, &uot;The Stormy Petrel: Theodore G. Bilbo and Mississippi Politics.&uot;

Jerry Purvis Sanson, Louisiana State University, Alexandria, La., &uot;Huey Long and the Politics of the Possible.&uot;

A documentary film by Ken Burns, &uot;Ken Burns’ America: Huey Long.&uot;

Noel Polk, University of Southern Mississippi, &uot;Editing Robert Penn Warren’s &uot;All the King’s Men.&uot;

A showing of the film &uot;All the King’s Men.&uot;

Fri., Feb. 27, 2004

Peggy Whitman Prenshaw, Millsaps College, Jackson, &uot;Eudora Welty’s Political Views in Fiction and Non-Fiction.&uot;

Paul Stekler, University of Texas at Austin, editor/producer of the film, &uot;George Wallace: Settin’ the Woods on Fire.&uot;

Allen Dennis, Troy (Ala.) State University, &uot;The Man in Black: Political Statements in the Songs of Johnny Cash,&uot; with singing and guitar accompaniment.

Wendi Berman and Brian Gary, Flying Chaucer Films, Los Angeles, a documentary film, &uot;Jefferson Davis: An American President.&uot;

Bruce Plante, Chattanooga Times Free Press; Marshall Ramsey, The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson; and Scott Stantis, Birmingham Daily News, a panel discussion, &uot;Editorial Cartoons,&uot; moderated by John D.W. Guice, University of Southern Mississippi.

Sat., Feb. 28, 2004

William J. Cooper Jr., Louisiana State University, &uot;Jefferson Davis: Politician.&uot;

Dennis Mitchell, Mississippi State University at Meridian, &uot;Conflicting Political Terrains: Mississippi Congressman Frank E. Smith, 1918-1997.&uot;

Natasha Trethewey, Emory University, &uot;Memory and History: The Politics of Poetry.&uot;

Will Campbell, Mt. Juliet, Tenn., &uot;Robert G. Clark of Mississippi: A Black Man’s Unprecedented Rise to Power and Political Prominence&uot;

Newspaper editor Donald Adderton, Greenville; syndicated columnist Bill Minor, Jackson; Clarion-Ledger columnist Sid Salter, Jackson; and Associated Press writer Emily Wagster, Jackson, a panel discussion called &uot;Why Does the Nation Continue to Elect Presidents Who Are Southerners?&uot; to be moderated by Gene Edwards, Mississippi Public Broadcasting.

A documentary film by Mississippi Public Broadcasting called &uot;Best Sellers: Three Southern Writers, Greg Iles, Nevada Barr and John Grisham.&uot;

An awards ceremony conducted by William F. Winter; Los Angeles actor and Mississippi native Gerald McRaney; and the University of Mississippi historian David G. Sansing.

Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award winner Greg Iles of Natchez, author of &uot;The Footprints of God,&uot; &uot;24 Hours,&uot; &uot;Mortal Fear,&uot; Spandau Phoenix, Black Cross, Sleep No More and other novels

Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award winner William Scarborough of the University of Southern Mississippi, author of Masters of the Big House: Elite Slaveholders of the Mid Nineteenth-Century South and The Overseer

Horton Foote Award for Outstanding Screenplay Writing Gail Gilchriest of East Texas and Los Angeles, author of the screenplays My Dog Skip, based on Willie Morris’ book, and The Ponder Heart, based on Eudora Welty’s novella, and Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!

The film &uot;Trapped,&uot; by Greg Iles, based on his novel, 24 Hours

Sun., Feb. 29, 2004

Writing workshops at Copiah-Lincoln Community College, costing $10 for two workshops, to be presented by

Gail Gilchriest, &uot;Screenwriting for Dummies&uot;

Maryemma Graham, &uot;The African-American Novel from the Early 19th-Century until Today: How Black Writers Write&uot;

James Mesker, Cleveland, Ohio, &uot;Weapons of Mass Destruction and Other Myths: Utilizing Primary Sources for Fact or Fcition&uot;

Wendi Berman and Brian Gary, &uot;Modern Documentary Filmmaking&uot;

Elfrieda Abbe, editor, The Writer magazine, Waukesha, Wis., &uot;Get Your Magazine Article Published: 50 Tips from The Writer Magazine&uot;

Enhancing the programs are several related activities. They include:

A luncheon Feb. 27 at the Carriage House restaurant on the grounds of Stanton Hall, after which Allen Dennis will present his program on Johnny Cash; $20

A tour Feb. 27 of three sites associated with politics: The Briars (where Jefferson Davis married Varina Howell); Monmouth (former home of Mississippi Governor John A. Quitman); and Rose Hill Baptist Church (oldest African-American Baptist church in Mississippi and site of civic and political meetings for decades); $20

A reception Feb. 27 at the Museum of the Natchez Association of Afro-American Culture, honoring speakers and award winners; $10

A festive reception and dinner Feb. 28 at the mansion Gloucester on Lower Woodville Road, once home of the first governor of the Mississippi Territory, Winthrop Sargent, and now home of John and Gwen Deakle of Hattiesburg. This benefit event honors NLCC award winners and speakers. Cost is $125 per person, with $100 tax-deductible. Funds will benefit the NLCC’s endowment fund.

A living history exhibit Feb. 29 at the mansion Melrose called &uot;Politics on Parade,&uot; presented by the Natchez National Historical Park.

A total of 3.7 Continuing Education Units for teachers. For information, call 601-445-0217.

Exhibits by the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters, Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Mississippi School of the Arts in Brookhaven, Natchez National Historical Park, the Margaret Walker Alexander Research Center at Jackson State University, The Writer magazine, Waukesha, Wis., and Phi Theta Kappa, international honor fraternity for two-year college students

Information and tickets are available by calling toll-free 866-296-6522 or 601-446-1289; emailing Christy.Williams@colin.edu; writing P.O. Box 1307, Natchez, MS 39121; or visiting the web page, www.colin.edu/nlcc.