North Carolina Literary Homecoming

 North Carolina writers and filmmakers will gather at ECU for the North Carolina Literary Homecoming.  The event will offer workshops and panel presentations from these famous literary icons.

East Carolina University will honor the region’s literary traditions Sept. 21 and 22 during the Ninth Annual Eastern North Carolina Literary Homecoming, presented by Joyner Library and the North Carolina Literary Review. The event will offer interactive workshops in addition to panel presentations.

Seven North Carolina writers and two filmmakers will discuss the translation of the written word into film during the event which has the theme, “Litflix: Adapting North Carolina Literature into Film.”

For nine years, the ENCLH has been nourishing and revitalizing the creative spirit for writers as the event provides a place where artists and community members can interact and share ideas. The works represented by the award-winning authors encompass a variety of genres including poetry, fiction, historical nonfiction, and drama and how they tie into Eastern North Carolina culture.

Each year, the Literary Homecoming kicks off with the presentation of the Roberts Award for Literary Inspiration. This year the award will be presented Sept. 21 to eastern North Carolina poet James Applewhite for his significant influence upon the literature of the state.

“The Roberts Award, named in honor of B.W.C. and Snow Roberts of Durham, is a fitting way to honor James Applewhite,” said Maury York, Joyner Library’s assistant director for special collections. York described Applewhite as an outstanding poet with deep roots in eastern North Carolina.

Also on Sept. 21, Timothy B. Tyson will speak about the film adaptation of his book “Blood Done Sign My Name” in a lecture on “Civil Rights Meets Silver Screen.”

On the second day of the event, several North Carolina writers whose literary works have been adapted into film will explore how film can both enhance and distract from the meaning of the written word. As Americans steadily turn away from reading and more toward cinema and television, the literary homecoming strives to reemphasize the value of the written word, while recognizing the value of visual media as a catalyst toward that end, said Margaret D. Bauer, Rives Chair of Southern Literature and editor of the North Carolina Literary Review.

The luncheon on Sept. 22 will feature a reading by Daniel Wallace, author of “Big Fish,” which was adapted into a 2003 feature film directed by Tim Burton and starring Ewan McGregor.

Award-winning author Charles Frazier will deliver the keynote session at 4 p.m. Sept 22. Frazier’s first novel, “Cold Mountain,” winner of the 1997 National Book Award, the 1997 W.D. Weatherford Award, and the 1998 Boeke Prize, was adapted in 2003 into a major motion picture that was nominated for seven Academy Awards. Frazier’s second novel, “Thirteen Moons,” was selected as the first literary work to be translated into the Cherokee language. His most recent novel is “Nightwoods.”

Bauer encourages everyone to “read poetry by James Applewhite and essays by Frazier and Tyson, as well as articles about other guest writers’ film adaptations, in the recently released 2012 issue of the North Carolina Literary Review and then join us at ECU to meet these literary stars in person.”

For more information see ECU.