Southern Storytellers Events 2023

THANK YOU!

To everyone who joined us Saturday, July 15 for our two storytelling events at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library on Goodwood Blvd. in Baton Rouge. We had fantastic crowds for both events.

With “Spinning Yarn: The Tradition of Southern Storytelling” audiences were treated to a special preview of SOUTHERN STORYTELLERS and heard stories from three of Louisiana’s most notable storytellers – Angela Davis, who has shared her Louisiana stories with audiences in over 100 countries; Mona Lisa Saloy, Louisiana’s Poet Laureate; and Nathan Willis, an Emmy-award winning filmmaker.

Louisiana poet Jericho Brown and musician Tarriona "Tank" Ball are among the storytellers featured in SOUTHERN STORYTELLERS – a documentary series airing this July on PBS that explores Southern identity through the eyes of contemporary creatives.

The series takes viewers from the mountains of Appalachia to the Gulf of Mexico, revealing a vivid patchwork of diverse American stories that celebrate the resilience and joy of Southern people – and the magnitude of the gifts from the region’s writers.

The program features a wide array of creators. Along with the Louisiana storytellers mentioned above, the series will feature creators from the worlds of literature, poetry, music, film, and television. This includes authors Jesmyn Ward and David Joy; poet and memoirist, Natasha Trethewey; songwriters Jason Isbell, Lyle Lovett, Adia Victoria, and Thao Nguyen; and multi-talented performers Billy Bob Thornton and Mary Steenburgen.

As we journey across the region, we explore themes of American identity, community, and culture from the perspectives of creators born and bred in communities across the American South.