TTU authors take part in Southern Festival of Books

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 8, 2003) – Southern history, music and architecture provide rich fodder for writers, as the 200-plus authors participating in the 15th Annual Southern Festival of Books can attest.

And a few of our own are represented among that number at the popular event, which takes place Friday through Sunday at War Memorial Plaza in Nashville.

Here’s the line-up of panel discussions TTU authors will be leading:

* Noon-1:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 10: “Architecture of the Cumberland Plateau” with panelists Michael Birdwell, assistant professor of History; Calvin Dickinson, professor emeritus; and Homer Kemp, professor of English. The three, along with James Jones of the Tennessee Historical Commission and TTU alumnus Steve Gwilt, are the authors of Upper Cumberland Historic Architecture (Hillsboro Press 2002).

* 3-4 p.m., Friday, Oct. 10: “Varieties of Tennessee Music: Biographies” with panelist Carolyn Livingston. A 1959 TTU alumnus and director of graduate studies in music at the University of Rhode Island, Livingston is the author of Charles Faulkner Bryan: His Life and Music (University of Tennessee Press 2003), a biography of TTU’s first Music Department chairperson.

* 3-4:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 11: “Women of Country Music” with panelist James Akenson, professor of Curriculum & Instruction. Akenson is the author of The Women of Country Music: A Reader (University Press of Kentucky 2003). He’ll be joined by other Middle Tennessee music specialists, including Robert Oermann and Charles Wolfe.

* 2:30-3:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 12: “Tennessee Tales Textbooks Don’t Tell” with panelists Calvin Dickinson; Cookeville writer Jennie Ivey; and Lisa Rand, instructor in Curriculum & Instruction and 1994 graduate of TTU (M.S. 1995). The three authored Tennessee Tales Textbooks Don’t Tell (Over Mountain Press 2002), a history intended for all ages.

The panel schedule is subject to change; be sure to pick up a program if you attend. Festival hours are noon-6 p.m. today, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. tomorrow, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. The Southern Festival of Books is sponsored by Humanities Tennessee. For more information, visit www.tn-humanities.org.

--Laura Clemons
This information posted 8 October 2003