by Adam Conder
Is literature dead? Susan Satterfield, the English instructor behind Longview’s Literary Festival, doesn’t think so. On October 2 and 3, the festival will host authors from a variety of genres, including local children’s author Richard Jennings and Kansas City Star columnists Lewis Diuguid and C.W. Guswelle.
“A good mix of people are coming. There will be a little bit of everything,” said Longview creative writing instructor Terri Lowry, who is helping coordinate the festival.
An open mic will be set up at the main festival, allowing anyone who’s brave enough to read their own work.
This is the second year for the literary festival and it almost did not happen. If it had not been for Chet Smith, the money man, it may not have happened. Smith, a former Longview creative writing student, helped advertise the Literary Festival and helped get the festival sponsors. Smith got $1,000 from Lee’s Summit Arts Festival and $250 dollars from the Bank of Lee’s Summit. That combined with the $1500 dollars from Longview made the festival possible.
On September 23, a Literary Flash Festival took place in the Longview commons. A flash fiction contest was the main attraction. Each contestant randomly chose a first line from a bag and had 20 minutes to complete either a poem or a short story from that line. Rednecks and Zombies and other books were awarded for the best submissions.
Other presenters at the Oct. 2 and 3 festival include Carolyn Mulford, Evelyn, Larry W. Allen, Liz Davis, Linda Fisher, Sylvia Forbes, Jim Muench, Eva Ridenor, and Judy Stock. Publishers and many others will be present during the main event, speaking about how to get published and many other topics. Groups attending will include the Dead Horse Society, Kansas City Horror Club, Kansas City Writer’s Group, Kansas City Metropolitan Verse, and the Kansas City Chapter of the Missouri Poetry Society, Kansas City Writer’s Place, Latino Writers Collective, Missouri Writers, and Guild Summit Scribes.
