With the exhibition “Eudora Welty: Exposures and Reflections” opening September 2 at the Museum of Mobile, I am reflecting on my memory of Eudora Welty’s visit to Agnes Scott College in 1977. She seemed elderly as she walked up the chapel aisle to read from the podium to the eagerly listening Scotties. Now I realize that she was only in her late 60s. At previous Writers’ Festivals, we had heard Robert Penn Warren, Reynolds Price and Josephine Jacobsen, but Eudora Welty touched our Southern sense of self.

Until a recent visit with Welty’s niece Mary Alice White for the Southern Literary Trail, I was unaware of Welty’s photography. Welty considered her work as a writer and a photographer of equal importance and claimed “her two art forms were parallel activities, with photography never directly affecting the product of her pen” (exhibition brochure). The juxtaposition of Welty’s words with the photographs in the exhibition may question her assertion.

At the opening of the exhibition, Frances Robb, an independent art and cultural historian who specializes in historic photography, will discuss Welty’s photography in the context of other women photographers. In the early 1930s, Eudora Welty traveled around Mississippi as a junior publicity agent for the WPA (Works Progress Administration). On these trips, Welty photographed people from many diverse racial and economic backgrounds. Welty’s short story, “Death of a Traveling Salesman,” was published in 1936 and received high acclaim that catapulted Welty into the American spotlight as one of the century’s great Southern literary voices. Welty claimed that her photography did not directly affect her writing, but narrative is present in both creative expressions.

In the exhibit’s wall text, curator Jacob Laurence states “the two art forms become a detailed record of the region and iconic images of the South, along the way leading people through a winding story from the mind and experiences of one storyteller.” Welty explained herself in her autobiographical One Writer’s Beginnings:

“My instinct—the dramatic instinct—was to lead me, eventually, on the right
track for a storyteller: the scene was full of hints, pointers, suggestions and promises of things to find out and know about human beings.”

As editor and contributor of Eudora Welty as Photographer and winner of the 2009 Eudora Welty Award, Pearl McHaney, associate professor of English at Georgia State University, notes that Welty’s photographs reflect her “recording of the Great Depression South without an agenda other than her own curiosity and artistic eye.” When the exhibition travels from Mobile to the Troy University’s Rosa Parks Library and Museum in Montgomery and Atlanta History Center in Georgia, McHaney will lecture on Welty as a photographer.

Explore views of Southern culture as seen through the eyes of Welty as part of the tri-state Southern Literary Trail. Visit Museum of Mobile for more information about the Welty exhibit.

Surprisingly, it was not the musical score by Kaempfert that made “Strangers in the Night” unforgettable. Neither was it the warm romantic lyrics of Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder, nor even Sinatra’s mellifluous voice. It was what Sinatra added to the end of the lyrics—an impromptu coda that sent many folks in the music business into shock, pleading with “Old Blue Eyes” to re-record the number excluding that foolish phrase, “scoobie doobie doo.” The popular crooner stood fast, doing it “his way” and “Strangers in the Night” became the biggest seller of the star’s long and illustrious career.

It’s not clear whether that added phrase was the product of an overindulgence of scotch or a true insight into what the public wanted from a song. The history of discovery is fraught with acts of foolishness-turned-wisdom. Who could have imagined that Sir Alexander Fleming’s foolhardy obsession with moldy bread would lead to the discovery of lifesaving penicillin?

Although the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra became well-established in the 1960’s, its popularity has not survived the test of time, with the exception of that one recording. Who among us, of any surviving generation, does not remember Sinatra’s phrase, “scoobie, doobie doo?” Flash of genius or touch of foolishness?

In fact, Alabama is extremely diverse and its population has grown as a result of globalization. As an interculturalist, Mrs. Byrd-Giles encourages us to think about where we came from, and to open our eyes to see our state as it is, with its diverse group of peoples.

AHF proudly offers Road Scholars Speakers Bureau presentations like this to civic groups, universities, corporations and the public on a variety of humanities topics. Designed to educate and entertain, the programs are presented by Alabama’s most enlightening university and independent scholars.

For a catalog of our 2010 Road Scholars presentations, please visit ahf.net/speakersbureau/. There, you can search for a presentation by speaker, by subject, by heritage or by humanities discipline. You can also search for presentations appropriate for different age groups, such as adults and children.

Please book a Road Scholars talk today, and help bring the humanities to Alabamians statewide!

Author Kerry Madden was on hand last week to draw the raffle winner’s name. Earlier, she spoke to a crowd of about 30 people about her book Up Close: Harper Lee. Kerry traveled to Monroeville several times to interview residents about Harper Lee, even corresponding via letters with Ms. Lee herself. The reclusive author declined an interview, however, saying she didn’t “believe in biographies for the living,” Kerry said.

Although Kerry said she had a plan in mind when she set out to interview people in Monroeville, sometimes she had to just follow where the stories took her. “The plan went out the window and it became something so much better,” she said. A new transplant to Birmingham via California, Kerry said she found her calling as a writer at a young age. “I had a fourth-grade teacher who said I was a good writer,” she said. “It meant something and I just hung on to that.”

Thank you to all the customers who entered the raffle and auction. And a big thanks to Jake and his staff; we here at AHF are so grateful!

For photos from the raffle and auction, please visit Flickr.

• His first stop was a tour of Vulcan Museum and Park. The AHF-funded exhibition on the history of baseball in Birmingham, now on view there, vividly demonstrates how our grant funds can be used to produce historically well-documented and skillfully designed museum exhibitions. The staff there did a superb job of orienting Leach to the city’s geology, topography and industrial history—some of which they did from the catwalk 160 feet atop Vulcan’s pedestal! Many thanks to Vulcan president Darlene Negrotto and education curator Phillip Ratliff. (For photos from the chairman’s visit to Vulcan, please see Flickr.)

• AHF Board member John Knapp hosted a luncheon at Samford where the faculty and staff shared with Leach how AHF and the university are supporting liberal arts education in Alabama. Knapp serves as executive director of the Frances Marlin Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership at Samford. The Mann Center, the Birmingham Area Consortium for Higher Education (BACHE) and AHF collaborated on many of the day’s events. Knapp, his Samford colleague Kara Kennedy, and BACHE Chairman David Chapman all deserve thanks.

• The chairman also toured the internationally acclaimed Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI). BCRI Education Director Ahmad Ward gave him a concise overview of the exhibitions, which dramatically tell the story of the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama. BCRI Vice President Priscilla Cooper also reported to Leach about their current teacher education grant from NEH, entitled “Stony the Road We Trod.”

• While at BCRI, Leach met with 15 AHF constituents and three AHF program staff members. These constituents included humanities scholars, secondary teachers, high school students and grant recipients. Each one told how SUPER, SES and other AHF projects have had meaningful impacts on their educations and professions. One participant said, “Tears almost come to my eyes when I talk about these programs.” Another stated that AHF has “changed Alabama,” especially through such major efforts as the Encyclopedia of Alabama. These were not scripted or solicited comments. I hope staff members Tom Bryant, Susan Perry and Michael Chambers took great pride in hearing them. I certainly did.

• That evening Leach spoke before about 150 citizens, business leaders and elected officials in Samford’s Beeson Recital Hall. In a wide-ranging talk about how the decline of civility has affected everything in our political life—from elections to congressional legislation to Supreme Court decisions—he sounded a clarion call for a greater willingness to see all points of view on an issue. The audience left with a renewed commitment to this goal, respect for the new leader at NEH and appreciation for how AHF itself plays a role in improving civic life in Alabama. We hope he returns here soon.

Monday, October 11, 2010
Pine Tree Country Club
8 a.m. Shotgun Start

You can select from the following price packages:
$125 Player Fee
$200 Sponsorship Sign Only
$450 Arranged Foursome Fee
$275 Hole Sponsorship and One Player
$600 Hole Sponsorship and Four Players

All fees include a luncheon at the Pine Tree Country Club. Prizes will be awarded for 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-place teams, closest to the hole and longest drive.

To sign up for the tournament, email us for a form: jdome@ahf.net.

The luncheon will feature our guest speaker, chief legal correspondent for CBS News Jan Crawford. We will honor Edgar Welden, 2010’s Alabama Humanities Award recipient, and the Robert R. Meyer Foundation as this year’s Charitable Organization in the Humanities. We will also present a special resolution in recognition of The Rev. Fred Lee Shuttlesworth.

For more information, and to R.S.V.P., visit our luncheon website.

Jan Crawford is the chief legal correspondent for CBS News and a recognized authority on the Supreme Court. Her 2007 book, Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for the Control of the United States Supreme Court, gained critical acclaim and became an instant New York Times Best Seller.

Edgar Welden will be honored this year as the 2010 Alabama Humanities Award recipient. He initiated and has personally funded the Jenice Riley Memorial Scholarships benefitting current kindergarten through sixth-grade teachers in social studies projects. He is the current chair of the Alabama Sports Hall Of Fame and Museum and president of the Bryant-Jordan Student Athlete Foundation, which provides more than 100 scholarships annually to Alabama high school seniors.

AHF will also honor the Robert R. Meyer Foundation as the winner of the Charitable Organization in the Humanities Award. This award is presented at the discretion of the board of directors to a corporation or foundation that has provided vital support to further the AHF mission.

The awards luncheon will recognize six elementary school teachers who will receive the 2010 Jenice Riley Memorial Scholarship. The $1,000 awards are awarded to teachers to enhance their teaching abilities by purchasing classroom materials for a special project, offering a class field trip or attending a seminar or institute in the subject areas of history and civics. This year’s recipients include: Takisha Durm, a sixth-grade teacher at PACE Alternative Education in Huntsville Cheryl Evans Hall, a third-grade teacher at Lacey’s Spring School Diane Henderson, a fourth-grade teacher at East Lawrence Middle School in Trinity Mary Elizabeth Lee, a sixth-grade teacher at New Market Elementary School Gerri McDonald, gifted programs at Perdido Elementary/Middle School Beverly Robinson, a fourth-grade teacher at Crossville Elementary School.

Ticket Information
Tickets for this year’s luncheon are $50 each, or $150 for a patron ticket. A patron ticket includes an invitation to the reception honoring the Jenice Riley Memorial Scholarship recipients prior to the luncheon. Complimentary valet parking, preferred luncheon seating, and a commemorative gift are also included in the patron ticket price.

Tables of 10 may be purchased for $500; patron tables may be purchased for $1,500.

Please visit our luncheon website to download a ticket request form, or contact Paul Lawson at (205) 558-3992 or plawson@ahf.net to R.S.V.P. for the luncheon and purchase a ticket.

Please R.S.V.P. by September 6.

The event is presented by the Alabama Humanities Foundation, in partnership with Samford’s Frances Marlin Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership and the Birmingham Area Consortium for Higher Education.

Jim Leach, the ninth chairman of NEH, will speak and lead a discussion on the critical need for greater civility in the nation’s political life. He has served in the United States Congress for 30 years as a Republican representative from Iowa, and was appointed in 2009 to chair the NEH by President Barack Obama. The NEH is an independent federal agency that provides grant support for learning in history, literature, ethics and other areas of the humanities.

The reception begins at 6 p.m., followed by the program at 7 p.m. The event is free, but reservations are required as seating is limited. Please RSVP online at: http://tinyurl.com/35fyy5m

Nancy Anderson, an English professor at Auburn University Montgomery, surprised elementary school students this week with a letter from President Barack Obama.

The students participate in the Young Writer’s Block program at the Molina Learning Center in Montgomery. After a sample of the children’s work was sent to the White House, they received a letter and autographed picture of the First Family in return.

To read press coverage in the Montgomery Advertiser, go here.

To see WSFA’s television coverage, click here.

The Alabama Booksmith will hold a raffle and auction for two copies of To Kill a Mockingbird. Each book has a cloth slipcase, the original 1960 jacket design, ribbon marker, and bookplate signed by Harper Lee.

One book will be raffled off—for every $5 donation to the Alabama Humanities Foundation, your name will be entered into the drawing. The drawing will take place on August 11, 2010, at 6 p.m. when Harper Lee biographer Kerry Madden draws the winning name.

To win the other copy, enter the auction at The Alabama Booksmith’s website. Each offer must surpass the previous highest total by $10, until $1,000 is reached. Then a $50 increase will be necessary. The highest bid as of 6 p.m. on August 11, 2010, will get to take the book home.

Call The Alabama Booksmith at (205) 870-4242 to make a bid or donation, or visit their website: www.alabamabooksmith.com. Or stop by the store! 2626 19^th Place South, Birmingham, AL 35209

All proceeds from the auction and raffle will benefit The Alabama Humanities Foundation. AHF’s  mission and goal is to contribute in substantial ways toward improving elementary and secondary education; combating the state’s high illiteracy rate; expanding public appreciation for reading; fostering intellectual curiosity, inquiry and enlightenment; and providing valuable resources to educational and cultural institutions.