Cornbread & Tortillas
The 17th annual Carolina Mountains Literary Festival will take place September 5–7 in Burnsville. Some highlights of this regional celebration of literary heritage and talent include more than 20 author-led discussions, a keynote presentation by bestselling Ojibwe author Angeline Boulley in conversation with Cherokee author Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, and a music and dance event with Cornbread and Tortillas, a dynamic group of artists whose cultural heritages span from Appalachia to Nicaragua, Mexico, Greece and Ecuador. The theme for this year’s event is Joining Voices.
“In order to build communities, we must unite our communities,” says Dr. Dan Barron, chair of the festival. “These communities can be villages or towns, or events within those villages and towns. As people come together to share activities related to literacy and literature they bring conversation, critical thinking and enjoyment together that can make a difference for people of all ages.”
Angeline Boulley. Photo by Marcella Hadden
Several of the festival’s featured authors will visit local schools, and there will be special events on Saturday for young children and their families on Burnsville’s Town Square. Four three-hour workshops will take place at the Yancey County Public Library throughout the weekend, exploring fiction, non-fiction, memoir and poetry. Registration is required for these workshops and the cost for each is $35. The author sessions are free to attend and will take place at the Town Center, Town Hall, Plott Hound Books and First Baptist Church. The free Cornbread and Tortillas performance is on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Town Center. The keynote event, also held at the Town Center, is at 7 p.m. on Saturday and requires a $25 registration.
Boulley, author of the YA novels Firekeeper’s Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed, presents a major draw as a keynote presenter. While her books are set in Michigan, they address nationally and regionally relevant issues such as repatriation of cultural remains, the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), and cultural prejudice. Her conversation with Clapsaddle, a beloved local author and a staple of the Carolina Mountains Literary Festival, will contextualize these issues as they relate to our region and beyond. “Culturally and economically,” says Barron, “we are a unique event which brings people to our town and area. Once here, they are encouraged to return for the arts, beauty, and atmosphere.
Learn more and purchase tickets at CMLitFest.net.
