The Thomas More College Creative Writing Vision Program invites people of all ages to the 25th Annual Caden Blincoe Outloud Festival on Sunday, February, 26 in the Science Lecture Hall located on the campus.
This event is free and open to the public and features talented regional writers sharing their literature in a festive, interactive setting.
Featured regional authors include recent Kentucky Poet Laureate George Ella Lyon (Many-Storied House), Cincinnati Poet Laureate Pauletta Hansel (Tangle), highly awarded Thomas More College Writer-in-residence Richard Hague (During the Recent Extinctions), Weatherford Award novelist Robert Gipe (Trampoline) and Northern Kentucky University professor Gary Walton (Waiting for Insanity Clause), who is a Covington native.
Two Appalachian family bands, Sunset Dawn and Tellico, which include Thomas More College English professor Sherry Cook Stanforth, will perform traditional music between readings.
George Ella Lyon
Attendees are invited to enjoy appetizers and visit the authors at book signing tables during and after the event. A special table will also be designated for local authors who want to share their books.
This annual event honors the late Boone County freelance writer and literacy advocate Caden Blincoe and emphasizes the importance of reading works “outlaid.”
The Festival reflects Blincoe’s mission to offer great regional writing to everyone, including people who may not read or have access to books.
The event also caps off a long list of public programs the College offered to honor the birthday month of its patron Saint Thomas More.
Stanforth, who is the founder and director of the College’s Creative Writing Vision Program, emphasizes the value of arts events that bring diverse groups of people together to appreciate the region’s heritage.
“Our mission is one of cultural continuance and active engagement. Lifelong relationships with literature grow from dynamic personal interchanges—people from all corners experiencing camaraderie and friendship in the interest of the spoken and written word,” said Stanforth.
