Northeast Alabama Community College sophomore Keisha Hatfield participated in the seventh annual Mountain Heritage Literary Festival at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, June 15-17. Hatfield’s essay, “Holding on to a Culture,” won her the Earl Hamner Scholarship, named after the creator and screenwriter of the Waltons. According to directors of the festival, “At the Mountain Heritage Literary Festival, we believe that the best writers of the region include those who are unknown, unpublished, and maybe even unaware of their own talent. That’s why we hope to foster new writers at our annual gathering. One way we’re doing that is by establishing the Earl Hamner Scholarships for the festival.”Hatfield won one of two scholarships awarded.  Joan Reeves, chair of the English and Fine Arts Division noted, “Keisha is an incredibly talented writer.  She has that special gift of being able to create a picture through her words.  I was not at all surprised to learn that she had been awarded this honor.”

The Mountain Heritage Festival was founded by Silas House and is now directed by Darnell Arnoult, both former featured speakers for NACC’s Arts and Humanities Speaker’s Forum.  The Festival celebrates the rich literary heritage of Appalachia, and allows its participants to not only hear readings from such writers as Silas House, Pam Duncan, and Maurice Manning, but also participate in master classes in poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and drama.  Another component of the Festival is a celebration of Appalachian music.  Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Matraca Berg served as keynote musician.One of the highlights of this year’s festival was Silas House’s presentation of the Lee Smith Award to Maurice Manning.

Hatfield observed, “Going to the festival was almost like going to my grandparent’s house. Everyone there wanted to know my name, what I was writing, what I cared about. The community there is so thick you can run your hand through it, and the passion of the faculty and staff as well as the participants was just contagious, empowering anyone who came in contact with them. Even in the classes, if I had something to say, I just said it. I’m beyond blessed that I got to learn so much in such a relaxed place. I couldn’t help but learn; it was like osmosis. In addition to the incredible talent gathered in one of the most beautiful places on earth was, of course, the absolutely amazing food.  I would definitely go back if I ever have the chance.”

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