Knollie Edge

Reporter

Mississippi University for Women will be hosting the 32nd Annual Eudora Welty Writers’ Symposium Oct. 22-24. However, the event will look a little different this year.

In true 2020 fashion, the Symposium will be held primarily online, in an effort to protect the health of the authors and all those participating, and to follow all state regulations. The university hopes to bring authors to campus and livestream from there, but is also considering livestreaming each author from their own location.

The Eudora Welty Writers’ Symposium exists to celebrate and call attention to Southern literature in honor of one of The W’s most famous former students: Eudora Welty. Natasha Trethewey, U.S. and Mississippi Poet Laureate, is this year’s keynote speaker. Her first memoir, “Memorial Drive,” tells the story of her early life with her mother and abusive step-father as it leads up to her mother’s murder.

With a theme of “Walking Along in the Changing-Time’ Southern Writers in Uncertain Times,” both Trethewey’s story and the current events of our world could not be more at home.

While this year’s symposium will not include as much tradition, the excitement and need for the event is no less than any other year.

“Though we are sad not to gather together in the lovely Poindexter Auditorium this year, we know from livestreaming MFA readings this summer that this gives us an opportunity to expand our audience,” said symposium director Dr. Kendall Dunkelberg, the chair of the English Department at The W.

Most sessions will not only be streamed, but also made available to watch after the initial event, giving classes and students from around the country access to the event in a way they never had before.

Whether online or on campus, the Eudora Welty Writers’ Symposium is truly a spectacle, celebrating Southern literature and the writers behind it in a personal and intentional way that deserves to be seen and recognized. From students to MUW professors to New York Times Bestselling Authors, the symposium seeks to lift up and praise the creativity and powerful story-telling that comes from the South.

For more information on times and session details, see www.muw.edu/welty, and make sure to tune in live or watch a playback of one of the many sessions.