Questions? Contact Us.
Kevin Jones
- Professor of English
- PortisPortal@uafs.edu
- 479-788-7429
- Vines 111
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.
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 |
| 10-11:15 a.m. (in person) |
Session I - Novels, Travel, and Humor "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 UAFS 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 U.S. Marshals Museum |
| 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 U.S. Marshals Museum) |
| 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) |