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| The nation's capital recently hosted its fourth installment in the "White House Salute to America's Authors," celebrating the works and legacy of Truman Capote, Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty. As part of the festivities, first lady Laura Bush invited nationally acclaimed poet and chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, Dana Gioia, to lead a panel of contemporary authors -- Tom Wolfe, Bret Lott and Elizabeth Spencer -- in a discussion about the lives and work of Capote, O'Connor and Welty. The program also included dramatic readings by Noel True, Edward Gero and Felicia Knight, and musical performances by Eric Reed and Paula West. "These American voices resonate throughout our country and through the ages," Bush said. "From their traditional storytelling in unique voices, to their groundbreaking nonfiction and essays, these authors have given us literary treasures to be read and reread for generations to come. I'm delighted to have their voices heard, their stories told and their lives celebrated as part of the 'White House Salute to America's Authors.'" Lott is an author, writer-in-residence and professor of English at the College of Charleston. This fall, he will become editor of the Southern Review at LSU. Spencer is best known for her collections of short stories and her novella, "A Light in the Piazza." Many of her works have been published through LSU Press. Wolfe is the author of such critically acclaimed works as "A Man in Full" and "Bonfire of the Vanities," as well as the definitive history of the birth of America's manned space program, "The Right Stuff." The "White House Saute To America's Authors" series was created by Bush to honor some of the most significant contributors to American literature. The series brings together writers, scholars, artists and high school students to gain new insights into the nation's important writers. The Library of Congress provides displays of first editions by the selected authors, as well as photographs and other relevant artifacts. The inaugural symposium, held in November of 2001, celebrated the quintessential American author, Mark Twain. The second, held in March of 2002, focused on the writers of the Harlem Renaissance. In September of 2002, the series celebrated three women of the American West: Willa Cather, Edna Ferber and Laura Ingalls Wilder. -30- |
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