Lambda & Arkansas Activists
To Challenge State Sodomy Ban
Representatives from several
Arkansas organizations
joined Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund in Little Rock, AR on Wed., Jan. 28, to announce a lawsuit on behalf of seven courageous Arkansas Lesbians and Gay men against the state's sodomy ban.
"The government should not be in the business of policing the private behavior of consenting adults," said Lambda Staff Attorney Suzanne B. Goldberg. "This law creates a second-class status for Lesbians and Gay men, criminalizing intimate, sexual behavior that is perfectly legal for non-gay people. The Arkansas sodomy statute is used to cause terrible harm to gay people, depriving gay parents of custody of their children and putting people at risk of losing their professional licenses, their jobs, and their homes, simply for engaging in sexual intimacy with a loved one," she said.
The state statute makes certain sexual behaviors, including oral sex, between two adults of the same sex a misdemeanor, punishable by a penalty of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
Lambda will file the suit, seeking that the statute be declared unconstitutional, in the Chancery Court of Pulaski County, in Little Rock. The plaintiffs argue that the statute violates their rights to equal treatment and to privacy.
Arkansas is one of six states that single out and criminalize the consensual sexual relations of only Lesbian and Gay couples. Lambda recently helped overturn similar same-sex bans in Tennessee, Kentucky and Montana, and continues to fight to enforce the equal protection and privacy rights of Lesbians and Gay men nationwide. The United States Supreme Court's 1996 decision in Romer v. Evans provides a new and powerful federal tool for attacking these discriminatory criminal laws.
Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival
Launches Writers' Conference
For a dozen years, the Tennessee
Williams/New Orleans Literary
Festival has been making headlines by featuring Pulitzer prize-winners, stars such as Alec Baldwin and Elizabeth Ashley, and productions of famous and lesser known works by Williams. For 1998, Festival organizers have added a new component: a three-day conference for writers (and readers), scheduled for March 11-13.
The new French Quarter Literary Conference assembles a lively mix of writers and literary experts to benefit both the professional and aspiring writer. Conference instructors include mystery writer James Lee Burke, novelist Gail Godwin, syndicated columnist and linguist Richard Lederer, and humorist and travel writer Calvin Trillin.
"The Festival has always offered individual master classes with such talents as novelist Kaye Gibbons, playwright Edward Albee and the best selling John Berendt," says program chair Patricia Brady. "This year we've organized the master classes into a package deal, including formal and informal opportunities to network with writers, editors and agents, as well as parties, and admission to the Festival itself."
Seven other instructors make up the rest of the faculty at this year's French Quarter Literary Conference: Tim Gautreaux (Same Place, Same Things) will discuss the marketable short story. "Our generation's Robert Frost," poet Fred Chappell (Midquest), will talk about the art and techniques of poetry. Memoirist and writing instructor Rosemary Daniell (Fatal Flowers: On Sin, Sex and Suicide in the Deep South), will explore her latest work, The Woman Who Spilled Words All Over Herself: Writing the Zona Rosa Way, an approach to writing and art that helps with overcoming writer's block; and, Literary agent Pamela Gray Ahearn will address the "hows and whys" of literary agents. Journalist Lolis Eric Elie, a regular columnist for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, will talk about the perils and pitfalls of being a columnist. Food writer John Mariani (Dictionary of American Food and Drink and the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Italian Food and Drink) will explore the burgeoning cookbook market. John M. Barry (Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America) will discuss the topic of creative nonfiction.
Admission to the three-day French Quarter Literary Conference is $325, which includes 11 conference sessions, a reception with conference instructors, admission to the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival (March 12-15), and the Festival opening night gala. All classes take place at the Historic New Orleans Collection, 533 Royal St., in the French Quarter. Conference participation is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis.
In a city that thrives on culture, the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival has become one of New Orleans' premiere cultural events. The Festival's three-day literary extravaganza features panel discussions, theatre events, readings, parties and premieres, featuring some of America's most accomplished writers, playwrights, actors and artists. The Twelfth Annual Festival is scheduled for Mar. 12 - 15.
Confirmed participants include all the French Quarter Literary Conference instructors, plus such notables as novelists Dorothy Allison (Bastard Out of Carolina) and Winston Groom (Forrest Gump), science fiction writer C.J. Cherryh, film critic Molly Haskell, and masters of old literary traditions Robert Olen Butler and George Garrett.
The French Quarter Literary Conference is made possible by Southeastern Louisiana University and the Historic New Orleans Collection.
NOMA's Audubon Blvd. Home & Art Tour
Exclusive Audubon Boulevard
is the site for the 1998 edition of
the popular Home and Art Tour, a New Orleans Museum of Art fund-raiser hosted by the NOMA Volunteer Committee. The 1998 tour is Sat., Mar. 7, from 11:30am to 4pm.
"Never before has a New Orleans home tour exclusively offered a peek into the grand homes found along Uptown's Audubon Boulevard," said Marilyn Dittmann, 1998 NVC President. "Also, this is the first time in the tour's 11-year history it has been on a Saturday, so it should be more accessible to those interested in seeing these lovely homes."
Seven homes, all in a two-block area, are included on the tour. One contains one of the city's finest art collections, while another has just emerged from an extensive two-year renovation.
Advance tickets for the 1998 Home and Art Tour are $15 for NOMA members and $20 for non-members. Ticket prices are $20 for all on the day of the tour and are subject to availability on a first-come, first-served basis.
"Tickets to the 1998 Home and Art Tour are available in gift certificate form at NOMA," Dittmann added.
For more information on the Home and Art Tour, call the NVC office at 504.488.263 1, ext. 316.
