kathryn tucker windham
spoken word stage
sponsored by the poarch band of creek indians
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stage schedule
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17
​ 9:30 am – University of Alabama Undergraduate Creative Writing Students
10:30 am – University of Alabama MFA Creative Writing Students
11:30 am – Pure Products
1:00 pm – 10 Minute Plays
2:00 pm – Seth Panitch
3:30pm – 10 Minute Plays
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18
10:00 am – University of Alabama Undergraduate and MFA Creative Writing Students
12:00 pm – Black Warrior Review
1:00 pm – "Southern Voices" including Charlie "Tin Man" Lucas
3:00 pm – 10 Minute Plays
listed in order of appearance
about the artists
Seth Panitch is an award winning actor, writer, and director, best known for the feature films The Coming and Service to Man. He has also performed in, written, and directed numerous productions Off Broadway, in regional theaters across the country, and in Havana, Cuba in partnership with the Cuban Ministry of Culture. His play Hell: Paradise Found is published by Broadway Play Publishing International. Seth is also a Professor of Theatre at The University of Alabama, where he heads the MFA Acting Program.
Pure Products is a reading series hosted by the University of Alabama's Department of English, bringing together students, faculty, and Alabama writers for a monthly evening of readings and community. Since its founding, the series has featured poets, fiction writers, and playwrights from across the University and the state, offering audiences a showcase of the region's literary voices.
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Charlie "Tin Man" Lucas is an Alabama folk artist whose work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. Lucas makes figural sculptures and mixed media wall hangings from materials that others have discarded. Charlie became friends with storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham at a dinner party in France, where he heard Kathryn say she longed for a tomato sandwich. Eventually, they lived next door to each other in Selma.
Lucas said he appreciates opportunities to share stories about his friend who went about her life in simple ways. “Miss Kathryn brought balance to my life and I needed balance,” Lucas said. “She came in my life to be the scale for me.”
who was
kathryn tucker windham?
In celebration of Kentuck's 50th anniversary (2021), Kentuck Art Center renamed the Spoken Word Stage to honor the late journalist/storyteller/Alabama legend Kathryn Tucker Windham.
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The Spoken Word Stage at the Kentuck Festival of the Arts would not exist if not for Kathryn.
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In the early years of the Kentuck Festival, there was no storytelling stage - just a circled spot on a map, where someone would tack up a sign with her name, and times. She'd walk the festival grounds, then wander back whenever a crowd of children gathered.
Kentuck Art Center and Festival is honored to dedicate the stage to Kathryn. In addition to the performances listed below, attendees can look forward to listening to old recordings of Kathryn telling her ghostly tales.
Kathryn used to say "Storytelling is a way of saying 'I love you.' I love you enough to tell you something that means a great deal to me."
The power of spoken word transcends time and generations. It is Kentuck's hope that honoring Kathryn Tucker Windham with this stage dedication will stir feelings of nostalgia for those who grew up reading her stories, and introduce a new generation to the magic of storytelling. Or, in Kathryn's words, the magic of saying, "I love you."
Learn more about Kathryn's life and legacy here.
