The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society, a nationally recognized non-profit arts organization, is a 501 (c) (3) literary and educational institution and, as such, grant donations, membership contributions, and contributions to our fundraisers are fully tax deductible. Important projects of the Faulkner Society are The Double Dealer literary journal; outreach programs for high school and college students; literacy projects for at-risk teenagers in cooperation with other organizations, including BIG READ projects funded in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts; continuing education programs for writers and readers; and a year-round calendar of literary events—such as My New Orleans and Meet the Author, the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition, and Words & Music, A Literary Feast in New Orleans—which honor and assist writers and provide high quality literary entertainment for readers. Many of our programs are offered free to students and the reading public.
The Faulkner Society works with other non-profits to present cultural offerings. Our next co-venture will be a series of six free public concerts. The Faulkner Society and Words & Music, a Literary Feast in New Orleans are partnering with the Bishop Perry Center, the exciting new mission for the disadvantaged and downtown cultural center, to present the second annual Musical Prelude to the Celebration of Easter. The first concert, featuring pianist Karol Mossakowski and tenor Marshall Richards, will February 19 at 6 p. m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 1116 Chartres St. The remaining five concerts will be on the five Thursdays following and leading up to Easter week. All are at St. Mary’s, all begin at 6 p. m., and all last for approximately an hour. For information about the concerts, e-mail us at faulkhouse@aol.com.
Our next joint venture will be a Meet the Author reception, Sunday, March 15, 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. The event is being presented with the Louisiana State Museum and it will take place in the long second floor gallery of the Cabildo at Jackson Square. The March 15 event will be a reception in honor of Randy Fertel, whose incredible new book on improvisation in words, music, and life, A Taste for Chaos, will be published that week. Randy will hold forth on New Orleans as a the capital city of improvisation. Free and open to the public, there will be time to purchase your copies of his book and for socializing with refreshments before Randy speaks at 2:45 p. m. and after his talk.
Our most recent ticketed events were during our annual festival, Words & Music, along with certain events of our 2014 BIG READ project focusing on the Dinaw Mengestu novel, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, which ran concurrent with Words & Music.
Our next ticketed event will be Juleps in June, the Faulkner Society’s annual overture to the summer social season and fundraiser. Tentative date for Juleps in June, 2015, is Friday evening, June 5. Details will be announced here and in e-mail invitations shortly.
Please plan to join us, too, for Happy Birthday, Mr. Faulkner! The Society will celebrate 25 years of operation on
his birthday, September 25th. Details of the celebration will be posted here soon. The 2015 winners of the
William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition will be announced then. The competition opened January 1 and deadline for entries is May 1.
Dates for Words & Music, a Literary Feast in New Orleans are earlier this year. The festival will open on Thursday, October 29 and run through November 2. The 25th annual meeting of the Faulkner Society, Faulkner for All, will take place during the festival on Saturday, October 31st and competition winners will be formally presented then at a costume gala, so be thinking about your costumes now! There will be special events on All Saints Day and All
Soul’s Day (Day of the Dead) as well.
Faulkner Society Impact!
Projects of the Faulkner Society have a positive impact for some 6,500 persons annually. We urge you to support our programs by becoming a member. For a membership form, e-mail us at Faulkhouse@aol.com. The Society’s most ambitious annual undertakings are:
- William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition
- Words & Music, A Literary Feast in New Orleans
- Workshops, Master Classes, Manuscript Critiques for Developing Writers
- Literacy Initiatives for Teenagers At-Risk for Illiteracy, Including BIG READ projects
- The Double Dealer literary journal and Student Intern Program
- Free Monthly Sessions of Meet the Author and My New Orleans Events for Dedicated Readers
- Joint Ventures with other Non-Profits to Embellish the City’s Cultural Resources