Arna Bontemps Centennial Celebration

Time is not a river.  Time is a pendulum...Intricate patterns of recurrence in...Experience and in...History Arna Wendell Bontemps Black Thunder

Alexandria, Louisiana, the birthplace of Arna Wendell Bontemps will host "Kick Off" of the year-long  Arna Bontemps Centennial Celebration on October 11-13, 2002.  This multidisciplinary festival will commemorate the 100th birthday of the late novelist, poet, anthologist, librarian and children's book author who was born in Alexandria, Louisiana, October 13, 1902. The celebration is intended to foster greater awareness and appreciation of the contributions Arna Bontemps made to American literature.

Celebration Activities

• a book fair

• a visual arts exhibit

• a film screening

• musical performances

• theatrical presentations

• a birthday party/reception

• readings by famous contemporary African-American writers

• panel discussions assessing the legacy of Arna Bontemps and other New Negro writers of the 20th century

Events will take place in various venues in Alexandria including the Radisson Hotel Bentley, Convention Hall, the Alexandria museum of Art and the Arna Bontemps Museum.  The Arna Bontemps African American Museum and Cultural Arts Center will host an exhibit called the Pasteboard Bandit, based on the images and text of a popular children's book authored by Bontemps.

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