The 39th Annual Literary Festival was held in October in the Black Box Theatre of the McGlothlin Center for the Arts. Appalachian Literature and Music was the theme and Rita Sims Quillen was the featured author. Quillen’s new novel Wayland, a depression-era novel, was published in 2019 by Iris Press. Her latest poetry collection, Some Notes You Hold, was released in 2020 from Madville Press.
Six workshops were held, plus a reading and interview, during the two-day event. For more about the festival or to purchase copies of the Iron Mountain Review, email ncrockett@ehc.edu.
The Department of World Languages and students created an altar on display in Wiley Hall to recognize Dia de los Muertos—the Day of the Dead—a holiday celebrated on Nov. 1. Dia de los Muertos honors the dead with festivals and lively celebrations, a typically Latin American custom that combines indigenous Aztec ritual with Catholicism. Students participated by leaving their paintings in honor of loved ones on the altar.