Natchez native Richard Wright’s works were the topic of discussion Thursday night and will be for the next year.

The first discussion meeting for “Richard Wright on the Eve of his 100th Birthday” was well attended.

About 40 interested readers gathered in a lecture hall at the Natchez campus of Alcorn State University to discuss Wright’s collection of short stories, “Uncle Tom’s Children.”

Scholar Jerry W. Ward Jr. will lead the discussions in the coming months.

“For me, it’s important the discussion is held in Natchez, setting a model for what a community can do (to celebrate) its artists,” Ward said.

Reading Wright’s works is not always a feel-good experience, nor is it meant to be, Ward said.

“He wanted to affect his audience,” he said. “He wanted people to think. He wanted people to be uncomfortable. You can read something sad and cry and then go back to eating your ice cream. That’s not what this is about.”

Natchez residents Duncan and Linda McFarlane were two of those who attended the first discussion.

They heard about the discussion series, went to the library and checked out the first book on the list, Duncan McFarlane said.

Among several reasons the series piqued his interest, McFarlane said he was interested in reading a local author.

“I do not remember reading this before, and I wanted to learn more about it,” he said. “So, here we are.”

Carolyn Smith, a Natchez resident, said she wanted to read the works more thoroughly.

“I haven’t read them page for page yet,” Smith said.

Janice Priester Byrne, a mathematics instructor at Copiah-Lincoln Community College, said she already owns most of the books on the reading list.

“For many years, I’ve collected books about Natchez, set in Natchez or written by Natchezians,” Byrne said. “So, this fits right in.”

Charles Wright, of Natchez, was involved in helping organize the event. A second cousin of Richard Wright’s, Charles Wright said with his cousin’s 100th birthday coming up next year, he thought it was important to bring his writings to the forefront.

“We’re trying to re-expose his work again,” Wright said. “We’re trying to get people to understand what he was about and why he wrote the way he did.