The Festival of Words

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.

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.

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.

Schedule :

November 3, 2023

Reading at The Hive in Grand Coteau 6:30-9 PM Ken Hada, Charlie Rauh, Dante Stewart. Each reading followed by a 10-15 minute Q&A, books and music for sale.

November 4, 2023

Drive by Poetry and Meet & Greet

9:00am  : Meet with students at Thensted Center

9:30 am : Drive by starts

11:00 am : Students perform on Community Stage inside Thensted Center - Community Stage opens

11:30 am : Students Meet and Greet with artists, Thensted Center: Ken Hada, Charlie Rauh and Dante Stewart

12:00 pm : Bag lunch for students at Thensted Center

Community Workshops Please pre-register for these workshops!

They take place at Thensted Center.

https://festivalofwords.org/workshops.php 

9:30AM-11:00AM : Charlie Rauh

1 PM-2:50 : Ken Hada

3:00PM-4:50 pm : Dante Stevens

Community Stage

11:30-11:50 am : Student writing contest

12:30 pm : Brief performances by Ken Hada, Charlie Rauh and Dante Stewart (featured artists)

2:00 pm : Community Stage resumes

3:00 pm : Community stage ends

Date : November 3, 2023 - November 4, 2023

Location : Various Location

Click Here to View for More Information