Long before Tennessee Williams became an internationally renowned playwright, he was Tom, a boy baptized at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church who spent the first few years of his life growing up in the church rectory.
In 2001, Columbus resident Brenda Caradine and a group of volunteers she pulled together decided to honor the city’s most famous literary native through the Tennessee Williams Tribute, which kicks off Friday for its 25th year.
Seeing the tribute grow over the years has been wonderful, longtime TWT board member Marthalie Porter told The Dispatch on Tuesday.
“(Williams) was born here in Columbus, and his family lived here,” Porter said. “He lived with his mother and his grandfather was the minister … at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. It’s just a wonderful part of our history and something that is so important (to recognize).”
Williams was born Thomas Lanier Williams in Columbus in 1911, though he moved away from the city by age 3. While his time in Columbus was short, his legacy has been impactful, said Keith Gaskin, another longtime TWT board member.
“I always felt strongly that whether you were a Tennessee Williams fan or not … you should be a fan of the fact that he is an international figure that was born right here in Columbus,” Gaskin told The Dispatch on Tuesday. “I think it’s critically important that the tribute continues and continues to work towards growing. We’re trying to get to the point that we’re having events throughout the year, instead of just one weekend tribute.”
Those year-round efforts, Gaskin said, have already started, like showing Williams’ plays during Pilgrimage and moving the Stella Shouting Contest, a fixture of the TWT, to the Catfish in the Alley festival held in April.
Gaskin said events during this year’s tribute focus on Williams’ early years in Columbus with his family as well as the lighter sides of his personality and artistry, rather than his signature, often heavy Southern gothic style.
“People cite that as a reason that they don’t enjoy Tennessee Williams’ work as much as some of the others,” Gaskin said. “So this year, I’m excited that we’re playing off of a different side of Tennessee Williams in the (plays) that we’ve chosen, and then also with the poetry slam and the music. A lot of people don’t realize that Tennessee Williams did other things besides write Southern Gothic plays. He was a very good artist. He was a good poet. He loved music. It had a big influence on his life. He had a good sense of humor.”
Festivities kick off with the sixth annual 10:4 TENN National Playwright Competition Reading hosted by TWT and Mississippi University for Women from noon-1:30 p.m. Friday at the upstairs meeting room in Columbus-Lowndes Public Library. The national competition invites submissions of 10-minute plays from writers across the country.
Starting at 6 p.m. Friday, the public is invited to The Glass Menagerie of Words, a poetry slam with live blues and jazz music at Munson and Brothers Trading Post, where Porter said there will be a mix of Williams’ poetry and original poetry read.
From 8:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, the Tennessee Williams Home Museum and Welcome Center will host a morning of coffee, pastries and an original vignette set in the summer of 1913, featuring local actors portraying Tennessee’s mother, Edwina, and his grandfather, the Rev. Walter Dakin. There will also be three stagings of “A Little Pitcher with Big Ears” at 9 a.m., 9:45 and 10:30.
A Night in New Orleans, an event set for 5:30 p.m. Saturday, will feature New Orleans cuisine, live music and an antique auction featuring Williams memorabilia at Ridge House at 571 Ridge Road.
The evening will also feature porch play performances of “The Glass Marsupial,” “The Case of the Crushed Petunias” and a special tribute to Caradine for her work in creating the TWT.
The weekend will close out with a 9-11:30 a.m. Sunday service at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, located at 318 College St. Those attending will enjoy a traditional Southern breakfast in the Parish Hall followed by a sermon in the sanctuary where Williams was baptized.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.