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Kevin Jones

Charles Portis Symposium Schedule

Most events will take place in the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center. Thursday's opening registration and Q&A event will be held in the Windgate Art and Design Building.

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Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023 (Windgate Building)

Time                               Event Name
5-5:30 p.m.

Registration
5:30-6 p.m. Meet and Greet
6-7 p.m. Q&A with Jonathan Portis and Jay Jennings

Friday, Nov. 3, 2023 (Campus Center)

Time                                        Event
9-10 a.m.

Registration
Vendors
Meet and Greet
10-11:15 a.m. (in person)

Session I - Novels, Travel, and Humor

"Geography as History: Traversed Space and Lived Place in Charles Portis's 'The Forgotten River'" - Scott Hendry

"The Unintentional Tourist: On the Road with Ray Midge in 'The Dog of the South'" - Karen O'Connell and Misty Hawkins

"'The Tiring Stroaks of Gnat-worms': Elite and Popular Culture in Charles Portis's 'Dog of the South'" - Dr. Kendrick Prewitt
10 a.m. -11:15 a.m. (Zoom session - prerecorded with live Q&A)

"In Defense of 'Norwood,' 'The Peckerwood of Peckerwoods'" - Dr. Allan Benn

"Research-based Interpretations of Inter-Connections: Fort Smith's Thoughts and Sustainable Cultural Tourism in the New Millennium" - Dr. Santosh Kumar Mishra
11:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. Lunch on Your Own
1-2:15 p.m.

Session II - Teaching Portis

"Sixty-six Lineal Feet of Books: Situating Charles Portis on the American Literature Syllabus" - Dr. Joseph Farmer

"Teaching Historical Fiction: A Theoretical and Pedagogical Approach" - Dr. Janine Chitty and Dr. Benjamin Lawson
2:15-2:30 p.m. Break
2:30-3:45 p.m.

Session III - Novels, Part II: Characteristic Virtue

"Making Up (with) Women: Unapologetic Female Characters in the Fiction of Charles Portis" - Jacqulyn Harper West

"'Meat is Meat': Ethics and Food in Charles Portis's 'Norwood'" - Dr. Joe Hardin

"Hating Above All Things to be Counted: The Pursuit of Continuity and Convergence Between Appalachia and the World of Charles Portis" - M. Glenn Taylor and Robert Gipe
3:45-4 p.m. Break
4-5:15 p.m.

Session IV - "True Grit"

"An Eye for an Eye: The Dichotomy of Religious Faith and the Hunger for Revenge in the 2010 Film Adaptation of Charles Portis' 'True Grit'" - David Nickell

"Elmer Bernstein and the music of 'True Grit' and the American Western" - Dr. Alexandra Zacharella
5:30-6 p.m. Reception hosted by the AV抖阴 Foundation (Fullerton Administration Building)
6-7 p.m. Keynote: Jay Jennings, author and editor, "The Collected Works of Charles Portis," Library of America Series with introduction by Dr. Paul Hankins (Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center Reynolds Room)

Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Campus Center)

Time                                        Event
9-10 a.m. Optional Tour of Clayton House (Fort Smith) and Drennen-Scott House (Van Buren)
(Register in advance or during the symposium)
10-11 a.m.

Session V - More "Grit"

"'True Grit': Scripture in the South" - Christopher Jester

"The Anti-Revanchist Influence of 'True Grit' on Today's Southern Noir" - Dr. Ty Hawkins
11-11:15 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Session VI - Live Podcast

Live Podcast of Jay Jennings, Jonathan Portis, and 'Tales from the True Grit Trail'
12:15-1:45 p.m. Lunch on Your Own
1:15-1:45 p.m. Optional Tour of
1:45-3 p.m. 

Session VII - Portis Goes to the Movies

"The Real Story of 'True Grit': Truth, Historical Accuracy, and Literary-Cinematic License in Book and Film" - Tom Wing and Cody Faber, with special guest Larry Foley also discussing his film Indians, Outlaws, Marshals, and the Hangin' Judge (2020) (at )
3 - 3:15 p.m. (Break)
3:15-5:15 p.m.

True Grit Q & A with Tom Wing, Cody Faber, and Larry Foley followed by showing of Indians, Outlaws, Marshals, and the Hangin' Judge (2020)
Q&A to follow