The Missouri Humanities Council (MHC) has awarded a grant of $2,200 to Southeast Missouri State University’s Center for Faulkner Studies in support of two events to be held as part of the international William Faulkner and Jesmyn Ward Conference in October.
The MHC is the only statewide agency in Missouri devoted exclusively to humanities education for citizens of all ages. It has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities since 1971.
Southeast will host the conference October 20-22, to focus on two award-winning writers from Mississippi, William Faulkner and Jesmyn Ward, including presentations of scholarly papers comparing the novels of both authors.
“The MHC award will support the keynote address by internationally recognized literary scholar Dr. Aliyyah Abdur-Rahman as well as a juried art show,” said Dr. Christopher Rieger, director of the Center for Faulkner Studies at Southeast. “We are pleased the award will allow us to hear from Dr. Abdur-Rahman, a two-time winner of the Darwin T. Turner Award for Best Essay of the Year. The art show will be on display at Catapult Creative House from October 7 – November 10, to allow ample viewing opportunities during the conference as well as for the community.” Dr. Abdur-Rahman’s keynote address is free and open to the public on Thursday, October 20 at 5:30 p.m. in Ballroom A of the University Center on the Southeast campus.
For more information about the Faulkner and Ward Conference, contact the Center for Faulkner Studies at cfs@semo.edu or (573) 651-2620. For more information about the grants program of the Missouri Humanities Council, call (314) 781-9660 or (800) 357-0909 or write to the MHC, 415 S 18th Street, Suite 100, St. Louis, MO 63103-2269.