THE FESTIVAL
OF WORDS NOVEMBER 3-4, 2023
FEATURING

Dante' Stewart

Dante' Stewart is an award-winning writer, speaker and author of Shoutin' In The Fire: An American Epistle. Named by Georgia Writers Association as "Georgia Writer of the Year" 2022 (Memoir); his work has appeared in the The Atlantic, New York Times, the Washington Post, TIME, ESPN's Andscape, Oxford American, Sojourners, NPR, CNN, Parents, and more.

He received his B.A. in Sociology from Clemson University. He is currently studying at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga.

FEATURING

Ken Hada
Ken Hada has been publishing poetry in regional and national journals since 2002. He has an active reading/performing schedule of his poetry, often in collaborative art events. Hada has read his original work throughout Oklahoma, much of Texas, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Missouri, Arkansas, South Carolina, Chicago, and New York. Hada enjoys interacting with his many diverse audiences.

In addition to Hada's public peformance schedule, and in addition to a significant publishing record of peer-reviewed journals, he has published four volumes of poetry, including: "The Way of the Wind" (Village Books Press, 2008), "Spare Parts" (Mongrel Empire Press, 2010), "The River White: A Confluence of Brush & Quill" (Mongrel Empire Press, 2011), and "Margaritas & Redfish" (Lamar UP, 2013). "The River White" and "Spare Parts" were also finalists for the Oklahoma Book Award. His most recent book is "Contour Feathers", published in 2021.

FEATURING

Charlie Rauh

"Charlie Rauh plays guitar with a quiet intensity, each note and chord ringing with purpose," writes Acoustic Guitar Magazine. "Rauh gives a gentle reminder that playing soft and slow can be more impactful than loud and fast." With these words, we find ourselves in the company of a musician whose imprint is as delicate as it is indelible.

when Rauh asked his father -- a guitarist who played regularly at their local church -- to show him a few chords, those six versatile strings caught him in their net. "With the guitar," Rauh recalls, "I could connect to all the different kinds of music I was listening to. My dad always had a way of bringing Americana elements and sparse finger-style technique together on the guitar -- a sound that I absolutely loved (and still love).

While Rauh styles himself a folk artist, the sound he has created fashions worlds a shade removed from ours. More importantly, he experiences his process as one of distillation.

Rauh is currently signed to Austin-based label Destiny Records. He has been invited to serve as a resident composer by such organizations as the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Louisiana State University, the Klaustrid Foundation, and the Chen Dance Center. His work as a soloist has been supported by grants from Meet the Composer, the Untitled Artist Group, the Fractured Atlas Group, and New York Foundation For The Arts. In addition to his sonic inspirations, he welcomes the imagery of various poets, ranging from Anna Akhmatova to the Brontes. The latter were the theme of his 2020 album, The Bluebell, which brought about a new chapter of his introspective approach. As a supporting artist, Rauh works with a variety of colleagues across several genres, both as a touring sideman and a studio musician and arranger, including work with Wilco drummer Ken Coomer, Magnetic Fields producer Charles Newman, Tom Waits producer Oz Fritz, Sparklehorse contributor Alan Weatherhead, and Pulitzer nominee Cornelius Eady.



Past Featured Authors
Jack Bedell 2018
Darrell Bourque 2009, 2010, 2013, 2017
Jericho Brown 2015
Patricia Cravins 2007
Desiree Dallagiacomo 2011
Jarvis DeBerry 2012
Toby Daspit 2010
Toi Derricotte 2011
Anderson Dovilas
Cornelius Eady 2019, 2018
Kendra Hamilton 2010
Kelly Harris 2012
Ava Leavell Haymon 2014
Rebecca Henry 2013
Yuri Herrera
D'Andre Hill
(Baton Rouge Slam Team) 2010
Ravi Howard 2009
Ladee Hubbard 2018
Kirby Jambon 015
Barb Johnson 2011
Allison Joseph
Julie Kane 2012
Fabienne Kanor 2013
Randall Kenan 2012
Saddi Khali 2007
Genaro Ky-Li Smith 2013
Yvette Landry 2016
Corey Ledet 2015
Akeem Martin 2013
Patrice Melnick 2012
Jessica Powers 2009
Mona Lisa Saloy 2009
Clare L. Martin 2007
Jerry McGuire 2007
Bonny McDonald 2012
Rain Prud'homme-Cranford 2016
Charlie Rauh 2018
Roddie Romero 2014
Donney Rose
(Baton Rouge Slam Team) 2010, 2019
Naomi Shihab Nye 2013
Chancellor "Xero" Skidmore
(Baton Rouge Slam Team) 2010, 2012
Tim Seibles 2011
Patricia Smith 2017
Olympia Vernon 2010
Cedric Watson 2018
Latasha Weatherspoon 2010, 2014
Lana Wiggins 2007
Jocelyn Young
(Baton Rouge Slam Team) 2010
Reggie Young 2007
Luis Urrea 2014