Tennessee Williams literary fest begins in N.O.

NEW ORLEANS – A festival celebrating the life and literary legacy of Tennessee Williams in the city that inspired some of his greatest works is set to begin Wednesday.

The 23rd annual Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival will run through Sunday and feature a host of panel discussions, celebrity interviews, skits, poetry readings and various theater, food and music programs.

Events kick off Wednesday night with a special "Broadway in the Big Easy" dinner featuring three Broadway actresses — Zoe Caldwell, Marian Seldes and Frances Sternhagen — who will read passages from Williams' writings.

Williams was born in Columbus, Miss., in 1911 and moved to New Orleans in 1939. He won the Pulitzer Prize for drama for "A Streetcar Named Desire" in 1948 and for "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" in 1955. Other noted works include 1952's "The Rose Tattoo," 1945's "The Glass Menagerie" and 1961's "The Night of the Iguana."

The festival is packed with classes and seminars hosted by writers of all backgrounds, among them Katherine Bouton, an editor for The New York Times, and John Berendt, author of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" and "The City of Falling Angels."

On Saturday, David Simon, creator of the hit TV show's "The Wire" and "Homicide: Life on the Street," is slated to discuss his latest writing project, a TV pilot "Treme," which he hopes will be picked up by HBO as a series.

Organizers said the festival is a celebration of all forms of writing — even cookbooks and poetry. Chef John Besh, who owns several New Orleans restaurants, including Restaurant August and Besh Steak, is slated to talk about the New Orleans tradition of St. Joseph's Day altars.

The festival will also include French Quarter literary walking tours, a book fair and other special events.

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On the Net:

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