Weekend Ticket: Literary seminar headlines weekend events

Published 12:10 am Thursday, September 4, 2014

NATCHEZ Literary arts and lost loved ones will all be celebrated this weekend in the Miss-Lou.

A chance of showers and thunderstorms are forecast for the rest of the week and into the weekend with temperatures reaching the low 90s most days, which may make outdoor activities unpleasant. Fortunately several indoor activities are available.

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Discussions on a Roxie native and nationally renowned author Richard Wright will be Saturday and serve as the kickoff for a series of seminars on local literary giants as part of the 26th annual Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration.

“The Power of Place: The Natchez Impact on Five Extraordinary Authors” will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Judge George W. Armstrong Library on Commerce Street in Natchez.

Richard Wright will be the first of five authors featured in the seminars that will culminate in the celebration hosted in February.

The seminar will feature discussions on Wright’s life and work, a question-and-answer period and refreshments.

The seminar will begin with a showing of the BBC film on Wright, titled “Richard Wright: Black Boy.”

Following the film, Charles Wright, a Richard Wright historian and cousin of the author, will begin the discussion about Wright.

The library will host the seminars in a newly renovated meeting room, which can accommodate approximately 100 people.

Wright wrote several works over his lifetime, including “Black Boy,” “Native Son,” “The Long Dream” and “Almos’ A Man.”

For more information, call 601-446-1289.

Suicide survivors walk

The Miss-Lou Suicide Survivors will host the second-annual survivors memorial walk Saturday at the Concordia Recreation District No. 3 Complex in Vidalia.

Hank Cooley, who lost his son to suicide in 2012, is organizing the event to memorialize those who have lost family members, friends or relatives.

“We want to push awareness, because this problem does exist in our community, and we want to get the word out there anyway we can,” Cooley said. “If someone has lost a loved one, people will be there that know exactly what your situation is.”

Registration for the event is at 8 a.m., and the walk starts at 9 a.m.

Cooley said those wishing to attend are encouraged to bring a photo of those they have lost, which will be put on a display board.

“We want to remind people of the faces behind each of these stories,” Cooley said. “If we can save one person who is considering suicide, than it will all be worth it.”

The walk will end with a balloon release.

Friday Forum

The weekly Friday Forum will kick back off this week from 8 to 9 a.m. at Natchez Coffee Company.

This week’s topic will be economic development and port industries.

Representatives from several companies will give updates on their progress at the Natchez-Adams County Port and future activity.

Louisiana’s Kingfish

The Concordia Parish Library will host a three-evening series starting tonight revolving around former Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long.

Georgiann Potts, who is a retired professor at the University of Louisiana-Monroe, will use a film and book by William Ivy Hair, “The Kingfish and His Realm,” as material for a series of discussions on Long and his impact on Louisiana.

The discussions will begin at 6 p.m. today at the Vidalia Library and will continue Sept. 11 and 18.