Friday, April 19, 2024

THE WEST ALABAMA WATCHMAN

Keeping Watch On Our Community

Arts & Entertainment News The Latest 

UWA’s Willie Williams featured at Alabama Writers Hall of Fame event

WAW Admin , , , , , ,

LIVINGSTON, Ala.- University of West Alabama Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Speech and Theatre Willie Williams participated in the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame Inaugural Induction Dinner held at Bryant Conference Center in Tuscaloosa in June.

“This experience was absolutely amazing to say the least,” Williams said. “We had the opportunity to dramatize the work of some of Alabama’s greatest writers, introducing those writings to some while reprising favorite works for others.”
The Alabama Writers Hall of Fame is a partnership program of the Alabama Center for the Book and the Alabama Writers’ Forum, a partnership program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

Williams poses with Alabama Writers Hall of Fame inductees: (from left) Cathy Randall (for Harper Lee); Keller Johnson Thompson (for Helen Keller); Bert Hitchcock (for Johnson Jones Hooper); Sonia Sanchez; Andrew Glaze; Rick Bragg; John Jeter (for Sena Jeter Naslund); Valerie Boyd (for Zora Neale Hurston); Paul Devlin (for Albert Murray); Kathleen Thompson (for Helen Norris Bell); Edward Russell March III (for William March); Mary Lou Meaher (for Augusta Jane Evans Wilson). (Contributed Photo)
Williams poses with Alabama Writers Hall of Fame inductees: (from left) Cathy Randall (for Harper Lee); Keller Johnson Thompson (for Helen Keller); Bert Hitchcock (for Johnson Jones Hooper); Sonia Sanchez; Andrew Glaze; Rick Bragg; John Jeter (for Sena Jeter Naslund); Valerie Boyd (for Zora Neale Hurston); Paul Devlin (for Albert Murray); Kathleen Thompson (for Helen Norris Bell); Edward Russell March III (for William March); Mary Lou Meaher (for Augusta Jane Evans Wilson). (Contributed Photo)

“For an actor this was a most rewarding experience because it allowed me to use my skills to breathe new life into some of the most beautiful and oftentimes unfamiliar works. I was most excited to actually meet and converse with Sonia Sanchez, an African-American poet most often associated with the Black Arts Movement,” Williams said.
Representatives of the Alabama Center for the Book and the Alabama Writers’ Forum with a committee of readers, writers, and scholars met to decide how best to honor the rich legacy of native Alabamians who earned their reputations in the literary arts. From these initial meetings, came the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame.

The class of inductees included Harper Lee, Rick Bragg, Andrew Glaze, Sonia Sanchez, and Sena Jeter Naslund; and deceased authors Johnson Jones Hooper, Augusta Jane Evans Wilson, Helen Keller, Zora Neal Hurston, William March, Albert Murray and Helen Norris Bell.

To connect with Williams or other faculty in the Department of Fine Arts, contact Sharon Harwell at 205-652-3510 or sharwell@uwa.edu.