GREENSBORO BOUND
Our community is fortunate to be home to Greensboro Bound, a vibrant literary festival that brings together readers, writers, students, academics, and volunteers in a celebration of books. Created in 2017, its mission is to elevate diverse voices from around the world, honor North Carolina’s literary traditions, and welcome an inclusive community of readers from Greensboro and beyond.
This week, GreenHill Director Barbara Richter, connected with Stephen Colyer who is secretary of the Greensboro literary organization and a founder of Greensboro Bound. We're also pleased to share illustrations from the 2019 festival created by Hannah Barnhardt. The titles, dates and times of the sessions and the names of people pictured are integrated in her signed works.
Barbara Richter: How has Greensboro Bound adapted its programming to changing circumstances thrust upon us by the pandemic?
Stephen Colyer: Greensboro Bound became a virtual organization. Canceling our May festival gave us the opportunity to work with authors in a new format. Lee Smith (The Blue Marlin), Casey Cep, (Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee,) are only two of nine authors who've ZOOMED with us over the last few months.
A significant pivot took place with our Authors Engaging Students program, a partnership with Guilford County Schools (GCS) that brings authors to schools. We've birthed a virtual presentation model that will provide "on demand" presentations by children's/young adult authors. We're excited, and so is GCS. And the impact of students interacting with authors is dramatic: after students meet an author, they check out books 471% more often than before the author visit.
BR: What online conversations are you particularly proud of?
SC: Our four-part Crimson Letters series, conversations with death-row inmates, was born of a single program scheduled for May that blossomed in the virtual environment. The partnership between Tessie Castillo, North Carolina author and criminal justice advocate, and her death-row co-authors is compelling, humbling, revealing, and inspiring. The first presentation featured Sister Helen Prejean, famed death-penalty opponent, and author of Dead Man Walking.
BR: Virtual GreenHill is exploring ways in which art can foster empathy and impact social change. Tell us about your Slave Narratives presentation.
SC: For Juneteenth, Guilford College's James Shields once again became Frederick Douglass, and framed a conversation with William Andrews, author of Slavery and Class in the American South: A Generation of Slave Narrative Testimony, 1840-1865. Seeing Douglass "live," discussing America's original sin and abolition seems more relevant now. Especially for Southerners.
If you have not seen James Shields become Frederick Douglass, it's a remarkable transformation. His words came from one of Douglass' memoirs, and I was transported to the 1800s listening and watching.
William Andrews work on slave narratives is eminently readable scholarship. Mr. Andrews was born in Richmond, VA in a hospital on Monument Avenue. As he observes, his slave-holding great-grandfathers could never have imagined a descendent would devote 40 years of his life to studying abolitionism.
BR: Your mission underscores inclusivity. How has that been reflected in your festivals and programs from the get-go? Can you provide specific examples?
SC: Representation and diversity have fueled our programs and author selection from the inception of Greensboro Bound. So many wonderful literary festivals around the country are very white and very male, and we wanted our festival to reflect the community in which we live. Our first year's keynote was Nikki Giovanni, and year two featured Zadie Smith, Rhiannon Giddens and Ani DiFranco. We've focused on African Americans, Muslims, the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and women.
In our school programs, representation is key. We want children of color to see authors of color. As National Book Award finalist Jason Reynolds put it. "When I was your age, I knew I could be a basketball player, a cop, or I could sell drugs. I did not know I could write for a living until I read James Baldwin when I was 17. You're lucky: you know now you can write for a living."
All of our programming has been offered free of charge to the public as it is generously underwritten by donors that include foundations, businesses, and individuals. We think this is a critical component of being inclusive of all in our community.
BR : Any news on what we may be looking forward to in 2021?
SC: For the May 2021 Festival, both Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the U.S. and Nnedi Okorafor, Hugo Award winner, will be with us. It's too early to know if the May 2021 Festival will be virtual or not. Time will tell.... Stay tuned for news and updates through our website.
We'll also inaugurate Guilford County's first children's book festival in March 2021 in partnership with Guilford County Schools, and UNCG's School of Education. 2021 will be virtual and features a marvelous group of middle-grade authors.