For its Bring Out Yer Dead fundraiser, the non-profit writing community of Casa Libre incorporates the centuries-old Día de los Muertos celebration into a hip literary and music event.
In the tradition of the ancient festival that reverently remembers those who have passed from this terrestrial existence, Casa Libre is set to honor writers who have gone to the beyond.
The fête will resurrect select deceased bards for attendees vis-à-vis a poetry menu.
“There will be an actual menu on each of the tables and servers will come around and ask people if they would like to order a poem,” Casa Libre’s Executive Director Kristen E. Nelson explains. “We’re having writers from the community memorizing poems from dead writers and they are dressing up as those writers.”
The menu’s deceased poets span time’s gamut and includes ancient Greece’s Sappho; 14th Century Italian writer Dante Alighieri; Americans Edna St. Vincent Millay, Dorothy Parker, Sylvia Plath and Langston Hughes; Brit Lewis Carroll; and Palestinian Mahmoud Darwish.
Additionally, Kore Press’ Executive Director Shannon Cain will read from the press’ upcoming book release, “POWDER: Writings by Women in the Ranks, From Vietnam to Iraq.”
Along with the readings, the event will feature live music from Fourkiller Flats, Emilie Marchand and Maggie Golston.
Red wine, a fabulous poolside courtyard, and eclectic hors d'oeuvres catered by Dwen Shriver and Celina Castro round out the bill of fare.
The fundraiser is part of a greater push by the non-profit to resurrect its writers’ residency program, which was suspended in September due to the abysmal economy.
In the last two years, before the global fiscal meltdown, Casa Libre was hosting writers from all over the world who needed a space with a sense of place to completely focus on their work.
As the only year-round writers’ residency in the Southwest, Casa Libre was accommodating writers of all genres and providing them an opportunity to be away from life’s pressing responsibilities and scribe in surroundings unfettered by distractions.
Shrinking grants and donor bases have delineated the scope of the program to nothing.
Nelson notes that the organization is “trying to do as much fundraising as possible to try and bring back the residency program. And if we continue to fall short on the budget for the program, whatever money is raised will be sunk into the community programming instead, that’s the plan.”
