Faye Smith, a Dallas author and educator, said she sought out 鈥渃ulture changers鈥� as she compiled the list of speakers for starting Friday through March 22.
She said the inclusion of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and New York Times columnist Charles Blow speaks to a major thread she sees in the literary world.
鈥淚 know African American fiction writers have begun to reimagine history, and that鈥檚 what [Nikole Hannah-Jones and Charles Blow] have done as well,鈥� Faye Smith said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always been primarily told from a white male point of view. They鈥檙e the ones writing the books and telling us our history.鈥�
Hannah-Jones鈥� work on The 1619 Project garnered widespread acclaim, and criticism, for its reevaluation of slavery鈥檚 legacy in the United States. Blow鈥檚 latest book, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW: A Black Power Manifesto, similarly reconsiders the history and impact of the Great Migration, the historic exodus of Black Americans from the South.
Faye Smith said witnessing the tumult of the past few years informed the talking points for this year鈥檚 festival.
鈥淪tarting with the first festival in 2021, we had just gone through a year of the pandemic,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e had seen George Floyd be murdered on TV and then Breonna Taylor. Things that African Americans and people of color have been talking about like police brutality and inequality showed up. I thought that in my small role that we needed to talk about it.鈥�
The festival, presented by Southern Methodist University, is an offshoot of the now-defunct SMU Literary Festival. Spanning from 1975 to the late 90s, the original event attracted literary giants like Kurt Vonnegut and John Updike. Faye Smith wants to ensure the latest iteration resonates with the North Texas community and speaks to the current cultural moment.
鈥淸SMU] asked me to revive the old festival,鈥� Faye Smith said. 鈥淚 wanted everybody to have their thumb print on the festival, not for it to be like this festival just coming from SMU.鈥�
She sought input from several organizations from the Dallas Public Library system and the South Dallas Cultural Center to Deep Vellum Books and the African American Museum.
In fact, the event鈥檚 headliner was not chosen by Faye Smith but by the student senate at SMU.
鈥淚 sent them a list of people, and they said Nikole Hannah-Jones, hands down,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he students selected her unanimously. That blew me away.鈥�
The festival also spotlights writers like DaMaris B. Hill, author of A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing. Dallas-based authors like Ben Fountain, Kathleen Kent, and Rosalyn Story are among the local writers represented at the event.
Faye-Smith said it was important that the festival cater to the regional literary scene.
鈥淚 realized that we pay a lot of attention to what New York has to say and very little attention to what Dallas has to say,鈥� Faye-Smith said. 鈥淎nd we have some amazing authors here.鈥�
Also of note for North Texans is a panel on , Jim Schutze鈥檚 examination of the history of racism in Dallas. While not explicitly banned, the book was dropped by Schutze鈥檚 publisher right before publication due to pressure against releasing an 鈥榓nti-Dallas book,鈥� according to the author.
Faye Smith said the conversation between Jim Schutze and Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price on March 20 is salient given the wave of proposed book bans in Texas. NBC News reported on by parents to school districts to remove library books about race, gender and sexuality.
鈥淭here seems to be a new force behind banning books,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 understand why we aren鈥檛 all out in the streets. Books were my refuge growing up in a small community. I could go any place with a book 鈥� Think about what we鈥檙e saying to young people. You can鈥檛 travel through a book. You can鈥檛 go out of your circumstances.鈥�
The festival will also touch on mental health, self-publishing and the importance of bookstores.
The Dallas Literary Festival runs through March 22. Event programming is free. Register and find a schedule at dallasliteraryfestival.org.
Got a tip? Email Miguel Perez at mperez@kera.org. You can follow him on Twitter .
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