Release: Immediate THOMAS WOLFE FESTIVAL RETURNS TO ASHEVILLE AFTER SEVEN YEARS. Photo Op! Photo Op! Photo Op!

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1 News Release Contact: Chris Morton, 828/ , Mary Cook, 919/ , #231 Release: Immediate THOMAS WOLFE FESTIVAL RETURNS TO ASHEVILLE AFTER SEVEN YEARS Photo Op! Photo Op! Photo Op! (ASHEVILLE-Sept. 22, 2007) In 1937, only a year before his tragic death at just 37, Thomas Wolfe proclaimed I have been seven years from home, but now I have come back again. Likewise, the week of Oct. 3-7 the Thomas Wolfe Festival returns home to Asheville after a seven year absence. The five-day celebration will feature the first chance in decades to sup in the former Wolfe boardinghouse dining room, dramatizations, exhibits, walking tours, a radio broadcast, lectures and the festival s premiere of a children s program highlighting the writer s life, work and time. Visitors to the Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site will have a chance to get to know Wolfe through examining his impact on American literature and learn about a bygone time when Asheville found itself under the writer s critical lens. All festival activities are either free or incur a nominal charge. A schedule of events follows: Wednesday, Oct THOMAS WOLFE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 9 a.m. WCQS 88.1 radio broadcast, Thomas Wolfe: You Can t Go Home Again. Live from the Thomas Wolfe Memorial, WCQS will present Ralph Redpath and Deborah Austin reading passages from Wolfe s most famous works, including You Can t Go Home Again, his short stories and poems, and the writer s letters to his teacher Margaret Roberts and literary agent Elizabeth Nowell. The readings will reflect Wolfe s assertion that the home of every one of us is in the future. An open house at the old boardinghouse and refreshments in the visitor center sponsored by the state historic site will immediately follow. Wolfe Memorial, 52 Market St. Free. 10:30 a.m. Guided tour of Asheville s Riverside Cemetery. Noted Wolfe scholar Ted Mitchell will lead an hour-long walk through the 87-acre cemetery on the French Broad River where Wolfe is buried. Other graves visited will include several real people Wolfe characterized in his novels and short stories including his mother Julia, various members of her family, the Westalls; Margaret Roberts and her husband John; a local physician Hugh McGuire; and policeman James Bailey and local grocer Benjamin F. Addison, both murdered by the fugitive Will Harris, who inspired Wolfe s Child by Tiger. Riverside Cemetery. 53 Birch Ave. Birch Ave. gate. Free. 1-3 p.m. Book signing featuring Wolfe writers Ted Mitchell, Joanne Marshall Mauldin and Jan Hensley. Wolfe scholar Ted Mitchell of Asheville has recently published, Windows of the Heart: The Correspondences of Thomas Wolfe and Margaret Roberts, which includes hundreds of letters between the writer and his boyhood teacher. The final two years of Wolfe s tumultuous life was the focus of Joanne Mauldin s new biography, Thomas Wolfe: When Do the Atrocities Begin? Finally, the history of the Thomas Wolfe Festival itself is examined by Greensboro writer Jan Hensley in The Thomas Wolfe Festival. Wolfe Memorial front porch. Free. Thursday, Oct. 4 7 p.m. Look Homeward, Angel: A Buried Classic. Documentary filmmakers Steve Agnew and Tom Rash present a preview of their upcoming film with reception afterwards. Wolfe Memorial. Free. Office of Information and Marketing Services, 4601 MSC, Raleigh, N.C (919) Fax (919)

2 (2) Friday, Oct a.m.-12 p.m., 2-4 p.m. Discussion featuring noted scholars and writers examining Wolfe s life, writings, and correspondence. Morning session topics, speakers and presentations include: Thomas Wolfe as Diagnostician Dr. James W. Clark Jr. (Raleigh) Yes, You Can Go Home Again Jan G. Hensley (Greensboro) Thomas Wolfe s Aborted Second Novel: The River People Dr. John Idol Jr. (Hillsborough) The Death of William Brittain Westall: Myth vs. Fact Betty Simes (Burnsville) Two audiovisual presentations: Thomas Wolfe s Brooklyn and Trains and Wolfe Planned afternoon presentations include: How I Got Hooked on Thomas Wolfe Marjorie A. Kashdin (Brevard) Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Wolfe, But Were Afraid to Ask Joanne Marshall Maudlin (Weaverville) Like a Blind Sea Thing: The Correspondence of Thomas Wolfe and Margaret Roberts Ted Mitchell (Asheville) Reading Thomas Wolfe: A Stimulus for Creative and Scholarly Ideas Ruth Winchester Ware (Durham), Pack Memorial Library (Lord Auditorium), 37 Haywood St. Free. 4-6 p.m. Bookstore wine and cheese reception. Captain s Bookshelf, 31 Page Ave. Free. 6:30-8 p.m. A Walk through Dixieland, or Julia Wolfe s former boardinghouse. Timed entry tours of the restored, early 20 th century boardinghouse where Wolfe grew up and which inspired much of his work, featuring dramatic readings from Look Homeward, Angel. Wolfe Memorial. $6 admission fee. Saturday, Oct a.m.-12 p.m. Children s program highlighting period chores, games and activities familiar to Tom Wolfe and his contemporaries. Children of all ages will be able to learn about the kind of chores Julia Wolfe would have given her son Tom at The Old Kentucky Home as well as some games he and his friends likely enjoyed playing out behind the rambling boarding house. Kids can help wash clothes using an old washboard, make ice cream and crafts to take home, as well as shoot marbles and play croquet. Wolfe Memorial. Free. 1 p.m. Reader s theatre presentation of Wolfe s Child by Tiger, followed by walking tour of Asheville neighborhoods where the actual crimes that inspired the short story were committed. Local author and storyteller Bob Terrell will host a reader s theatre presentation of Child, which was based on an actual murder spree in 1906 by an African American man named Will Harris. Wolfe s work shone a harsh light on common attitudes towards race and crime in the early 20 th century American South. Immediately following the presentation, Terrell will lead a walking tour of Pack Square where Will Harris shot five innocent people and the country lane where he was cornered by a thousandman posse and then gunned down. Windows on the Park, 1 Pack Sq., $5 admission fee. 2:30 p.m., 8:15 p..m. Return of an Angel. Written by Sandra Mason, this play focuses on Wolfe s return to Asheville in 1937, the first time he had been home since writing Look Homeward, Angel. Before leaving town for the last time before his untimely death, Wolfe gave the town s paper an essay entitled Return in which he tried to explain why he had written the way he had about his hometown, childhood, youth and family. Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E. Walnut St. For tickets call 828/ or go to $20 admission fee. 6 p.m., 8 p.m. Fundraising dinner at The Old Kentucky Home. The first opportunity in decades to sup in Julia Wolfe s dining room, Dinner at The Old Kentucky Home will feature the bygone ambiance of southern boardinghouse meals circa All funds raised will be used to benefit the state historic site. Advance reservations required. Limited seating. Wolfe Memorial. $80 admission fee.

3 (3) Sunday, Oct. 7 1:30 p.m. A Walk Though Altamont, otherwise known as downtown Asheville. Step into Thomas Wolfe s world through an hour-long walk around sites that inspired Wolfe to write Look Homeward, Angel. Featured stops will include the house where the writer was born and Asheville s central downtown square, Pack Place. Wolfe Memorial. Free. 2:30 p.m. Return of an Angel. See above listing for more information on this presentation. Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E. Walnut St. For tickets call 828/ or go to $20 admission fee. Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E. Walnut St. Ongoing Wolfe House cistern exhibit. Exhibit will feature items found in an old cistern (a storage tank for water or other liquids) out behind the old boardinghouse including an early Coke bottle, a Haviland tea cup, an early 20 th century light bulb, a coffee pot, and much more. A 1978 archaeological dig under the Wolfe House unearthed the cistern and its contents. Sometimes used as a trash can before city trash pick ups became routine, cisterns often hold a wealth of material culture from a given historical period. Wolfe Memorial Visitor Center. Free. RELATED EVENTS Saturday, Sept st Annual Thomas Wolfe 8K Road Race For more information, go to Thomas Wolfe spent a decade growing up in his mother s ramshackle boardinghouse, his childhood played out against the backdrop of intrusive boarders, small town provincialism and his colorful but sometimes unhappy family. Many of those who touched Wolfe s life during this period inspired various characters in his famed novel Look Homeward, Angel. The goal of the Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site is to preserve and interpret the history of author Thomas Wolfe and his mother s boardinghouse as depicted in his novel Look Homeward Angel. The state historic site is located at 52 N. Market Street in downtown Asheville. For more information about any of these events, contact the Thomas Wolfe Memorial at , or contactus@wolfememorial.com. Please visit for a complete list of events for the festival. Photos for media are also available at this web page address. The Wolfe Memorial is an agency of the Division of State Historic Sites, N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina s arts, history, and culture through such programs as History Happens Here, a yearlong celebration of North Carolina s stories of struggle and freedom, memorable characters and colorful daily life. For more information, visit or call # # #

4 News Release Contact: Chris Morton, 828/ , Mary Cook, 919/ , #231 Release: Immediate FACT SHEET FROM CROQUET TO CORNBREAD ON TAP AT 2007 WOLFE FESTIVAL Photo Op! Photo Op! Photo Op! (ASHEVILLE-Sept. 22, 2007) Long before he wrote his groundbreaking autobiographical novel Look Homeward Angel, Thomas Wolfe was once just a little boy, who liked playing marbles and croquet with his friends, and smacked his lips over the tasty cornbread and apple pies served up in his mother s boardinghouse. A look back at Wolfe s childhood in Asheville, along with book signings, receptions and a special dinner, will be explored at the 2007 Thomas Wolfe Festival in Asheville, presented Wednesday, Oct. 3 through Sunday, Oct. 7. All festival programs are open to the public. Wolfe fans certainly won t want to miss a free book signing by three prominent writers, presented on the Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site porch Wednesday, Oct. 3 from 1-3 p.m. The following evening, the Captain s Bookshelf will welcome festival goers to a wine and cheese reception, a gathering Wolfe himself probably would have enjoyed. Next morning from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., the Wolfe Memorial is presenting its first ever children s program, featuring chores, games and crafts kids in early 1920s Asheville would have known, such as using a washboard to scrub clothes, playing croquet, and even making homemade ice cream. Wednesday, Oct. 3, 1-3 p.m. Book signing featuring Wolfe writers Ted Mitchell, Joanne Marshall Mauldin and Jan Hensley. Wolfe scholar Ted Mitchell of Asheville has recently published, Windows of the Heart: The Correspondences of Thomas Wolfe and Margaret Roberts, which includes hundreds of letters between the writer and his boyhood teacher. The final two years of Wolfe s tumultuous life is the focus of Joanne Mauldin s new biography, Thomas Wolfe: When Do the Atrocities Begin? Finally, the 11-year history of the Thomas Wolfe Festival itself is chronicled by Greensboro writer Jan Hensley in The Thomas Wolfe Festival. Wolfe Memorial front porch. Free. Friday, Oct. 5, 4-6 p.m. Bookstore wine and cheese reception. Captain s Bookshelf, 31 Page Ave. Free. Saturday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Children s program highlighting period chores, games and activities familiar to Tom Wolfe and his contemporaries. Children of all ages will be able to learn about the kind of chores Julia Wolfe would have given her son Tom at The Old Kentucky Home as well as some games he and his friends likely enjoyed playing out behind the rambling boarding house. Kids can help wash clothes using an old washboard, make ice cream and crafts to take home, as well as shoot marbles and play croquet. Wolfe Memorial. Free. 6 p.m., 8 p.m. Fundraising dinner at The Old Kentucky Home. The first time since the early 1970s visitors will have a chance to sup in Julia Wolfe s dining room, Dinner at The Old Kentucky Home will feature the bygone ambiance of southern boardinghouse meals circa All funds raised will be used to benefit the state historic site. Advance reservations required. Limited seating (6 p.m. seating sold out). Wolfe Memorial. $80 admission fee.

5 (2) Ongoing Wolfe House cistern exhibit. Exhibit will feature items including an early Coke bottle, a Haviland tea cup, an early 20 th century light bulb, a coffee pot, and much more, found in an old cistern (a storage tank for water or other liquids) that once lay out behind the old boardinghouse. A 1978 archaeological dig under the Wolfe House unearthed the cistern and its contents. Often used as trash cans before city trash pick ups became routine, cisterns can hold a wide variety of items that help illustrate a given historical period including china, bottles, children s toys, and much more. Wolfe Memorial Visitor Center. Free. The Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site preserves and interprets the history of author Thomas Wolfe and his mother s boardinghouse as depicted in his novel Look Homeward Angel. It is located at 52 N. Market Street in downtown Asheville. For more information about any of these events or the 2007 Wolfe Festival, contact the Wolfe Memorial at , or contactus@wolfememorial.com. Visit for a list of all 2007 Thomas Wolfe Festival events. Photos for media are also available at this web page address. Wolfe Memorial is an agency of the Division of State Historic Sites, N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina s arts, history, and culture through such programs as History Happens Here, a yearlong celebration of North Carolina s stories of struggle and freedom, memorable characters and colorful daily life. For more information, visit or call # # #

6 News Release FACT SHEET Contact: Chris Morton, 828/ , Mary Cook, 919/ , #231 Release: Immediate FOLLOW THOMAS WOLFE THROUGH ASHEVILLE AT 2007 WOLFE FESTI- VAL Photo Op! Photo Op! Photo Op! (ASHEVILLE) Come walk in the writer s oversized footsteps at the 2007 Thomas Wolfe Festival Wednesday, Oct. 3 - Sunday, Oct. 7 in Asheville through fascinating tours tracing his life, time and work. All festival tours are open to the public and are either free or incur a nominal charge. First, take a guided stroll Wednesday, Oct. 3, through old Riverside Cemetery where Wolfe is buried, and where family members, friends, colleagues and town residents who peopled his novels and short stories now rest. Friday, Oct. 5, festival goers will be able to tour the writer s childhood home, an early 20 th century boarding house, while interpreters read from Look Homeward, Angel, a novel that s characters were inspired by residents of The Old Kentucky Home, both boarders and Wolfe family members. A tourist magnet in Wolfe s day too, Asheville itself will be explored in two separate walking tours, one on Saturday, Oct. 6 focusing on an actual murder spree the writer later fictionalized in a short story and another on Sunday, Oct. 7, which will explore post- World War I Asheville of Tom s youth. The tour schedule follows: Wednesday, Oct. 3, 10:30 a.m. Guided walking tour of Asheville s Riverside Cemetery. Noted Wolfe scholar Ted Mitchell will lead an hour-long walk through the 87-acre cemetery on the French Broad River where Tom Wolfe is buried. Other graves visited will include several real people Wolfe characterized in his novels and short stories including his mother Julia, various members of her family, the Westalls; Margaret Roberts and her husband John; a local doctor Hugh McGuire; and policeman James Bailey and local grocer Benjamin F. Addison, both murdered by the fugitive Will Harris, who inspired Wolfe s Child by Tiger. Riverside Cemetery gate on Birch Ave. Free. Friday, Oct. 5, 6:30-8 p.m. A Walk through Dixieland, or Julia Wolfe s former boarding house. Timed entry tours of the restored, early 20 th century boarding house where Wolfe grew up and which inspired much of his work, featuring dramatic readings by interpreters from Look Homeward, Angel. Wolfe Memorial. $6 admission fee. Saturday, Oct. 6, 1 p.m. Reader s theatre presentation of Wolfe s Child by Tiger, followed by guided walking tour of Asheville neighborhoods where the actual crimes that inspired the short story were committed. Local author and storyteller Bob Terrell will host a presentation of Child, which was based on an actual 1906 murder spree in the community by an African American man named Will Harris. This work shone a harsh light on common southern attitudes towards race and crime in the early 20 th century. Immediately following the presentation, Terrell will lead a walking tour of Pack Square where Will Harris shot five innocent people and the country lane where he was cornered by a thousand-man posse and then gunned down. Windows on the Park, 1 Pack Sq., $5 admission fee. Sunday, Oct. 7, 1:30 p.m. A Walk Though Altamont, otherwise known as downtown Asheville. Step into Thomas Wolfe s world through an hour-long walk around sites that inspired Wolfe s Look Homeward, Angel. Stops will include the house where the writer was born and Asheville s central square, Pack Place. Wolfe Memorial. Free.

7 (2) The goal of the Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site is to preserve and interpret the history of author Thomas Wolfe and his mother s boardinghouse as depicted in his novel Look Homeward Angel. The state historic site is located at 52 N. Market Street in downtown Asheville. For more information about any of these tours or the 2007 Wolfe Festival, contact the Wolfe Memorial at , or contactus@wolfememorial.com. Visit for a list of all 2007 Thomas Wolfe Festival events. Photos for media are also available at this web page address. Wolfe Memorial is an agency of the Division of State Historic Sites, N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina s arts, history, and culture through such programs as History Happens Here, a yearlong celebration of North Carolina s stories of struggle and freedom, memorable characters and colorful daily life. For more information, visit or call # # #

8 News Release Contact: Chris Morton, 828/ , Mary Cook, 919/ , #231 Release: Immediate FACT SHEET EXPLORE WRITER S LITERARY LEGACY AT 2007 THOMAS WOLFE FESTI- VAL Photo Op! Photo Op! Photo Op! (ASHEVILLE) Thomas Wolfe still casts a long shadow across American literature. To better understand the writer s art and life, the 2007 Thomas Wolfe Festival in Asheville will examine his writings through discussions, a radio broadcast featuring readings from the writer s most famous work and letters, a reader s theater program featuring his short story Child by Tiger and even a play based on Angel. For the first time in seven years, Wolfe fans will have plenty of chances to revel in his work at the festival, which runs Wednesday, Oct. 3 through Sunday, Oct. 7 throughout the city. All literary programs are open to the public. Most are free. The festival kicks off at 9 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 3 with a WCQS 88.1 radio broadcast of excerpts from Tom s letters, novels, short stories and poems, live from the Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site. If film is your forte, be sure to drop by the memorial at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, for a preview of a new movie on Wolfe, a man who crammed several lifetimes into a scant 37 years. A discussion of Wolfe s life and literature will be presented at the Pack Memorial Library Friday, Oct. 5 (morning and afternoon sessions), featuring noted scholars and writers. A theatrical presentation of Child by Tiger, Wolfe s short story based on an actual 1906 murder spree in Asheville and the community s reaction to the killer s crime and race, is on tap at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6 at Windows on the Park. Also on Saturday, Wolfe s turbulent relationship with Asheville itself will take center stage at Asheville Community Theatre, which will present Return of An Angel at 2:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. A complete list of the festival s literary, film and dramatic programs follows: Wednesday, Oct. 3, 9 a.m. WCQS 88.1 radio broadcast, Thomas Wolfe: You Can t Go Home Again. Live from the Thomas Wolfe Memorial, WCQS will present Ralph Redpath and Deborah Austin reading passages from Wolfe s most famous works, including You Can t Go Home Again, his short stories and poems, and the writer s letters to his teacher Margaret Roberts and literary agent Elizabeth Nowell. The readings will reflect Wolfe s assertion that the home of every one of us is in the future. An open house at the old boardinghouse and refreshments in the visitor center sponsored by the state historic site will immediately follow. Wolfe Memorial, 52 Market St. Free. Thursday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m. Look Homeward, Angel: A Buried Classic. Documentary filmmakers Steve Agnew and Tom Rash present a preview of their upcoming film with a reception afterwards. Wolfe Memorial. Free Friday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m.-noon, 2-4 p.m. Discussion featuring noted scholars and writers concerning Wolfe s life, writings, and correspondence. Morning session topics, speakers and presentations include: Thomas Wolfe as Diagnostician Dr. James W. Clark Jr. (Raleigh), N.C. State University English professor and author of Clover All Over.

9 (2) Thomas Wolfe as Diagnostician Dr. James W. Clark Jr. (Raleigh), N.C. State University English professor and author of Clover All Over Yes, You Can Go Home Again Jan G. Hensley (Greensboro), noted photoprapher and avid Wolfe collector who became interested in Wolfe's life after performing in the play, Look Homeward, Angel. Thomas Wolfe s Aborted Second Novel: The River People Dr. John Idol Jr. (Hillsborough), Clemson University retired English professor and author of Blue Ridge Heritage. He has also published articles in the Thomas Wolfe Review. The Death of William Brittain Westall: Myth vs. Fact Betty Simes (Burnsville), descendent of Samuel Westall, the oldest son of Thomas Wolfe's grandfather, William Brittain Westall. She is an authority on the prominent western North Carolina Westall family. Two audiovisual presentations: Thomas Wolfe s Brooklyn and Trains and Wolfe. Planned afternoon presentations include: How I Got Hooked on Thomas Wolfe Marjorie A. Kashdin (Brevard), Wolfe fan and independent scholar. Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Wolfe, But Were Afraid to Ask Joanne Marshall Maudlin (Weaverville), Wolfe biographer whose most recent work is Thomas Wolfe: When do the Atrocities Begin?, which traces the last two years of Wolfe s life and the aftermath of his death. Maudlin is an independent scholar who has written for Southern Exposure, the Thomas Wolfe Review, and Pembroke Magazine. Like a Blind Sea Thing: The Correspondence of Thomas Wolfe and Margaret Roberts Ted Mitchell (Asheville), Wolfe biographer whose works include A Writer s Life, Thomas Wolfe: An Illustrated Biography and Windows of the Heart. Mitchell currently works at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial as a historic interpreter. Reading Thomas Wolfe: A Stimulus for Creative and Scholarly Ideas Ruth Winchester Ware (Durham), noted photographer and poet who has written A Memorial: Wolfe s Shoes for the N.C. Literary Review and Thomas Wolfe s Grover Story: Journey through Grief to Resolution for the Thomas Wolfe Review. Pack Memorial Library (Lord Auditorium), 37 Haywood St. Free. Saturday, Oct. 6, 1 p.m. Reader s theater presentation of Wolfe s Child by Tiger, followed by guided walking tour of Asheville neighborhoods where the actual crimes that inspired the short story were committed. Local author and storyteller Bob Terrell will host a presentation of Child, which was based on an actual 1906 murder spree in the community by an African American man named Will Harris. This work shone a harsh light on common southern attitudes towards race and crime in the early 20 th century. Immediately following the presentation, Terrell will lead a walking tour of Pack Square where Will Harris shot five innocent people and the country lane where he was cornered by a thousand-man posse and then mowed down. Windows on the Park, 1 Pack Sq., $5 admission fee. 2:30 p.m., 8:15 p.m. Return of an Angel. Written by Sandra Mason, this play focuses on Wolfe s return to Asheville in 1937, the first time he had been home since writing Look Homeward, Angel. The writer had stayed away from home for seven years because his novel had enraged many residents, who felt its thinly veiled characters and events had left them stripped bare. Before leaving town for the last time before his untimely death, Wolfe gave the town s paper an essay entitled Return in which he tried to explain why he had written the way he had about his hometown, childhood, youth and family. Ashe Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E. Walnut St. For tickets call 828/ or go to $20 admission fee. Sunday, Oct. 7. 2:30 p.m. Return of an Angel. See above listing for more information.

10 The Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site preserves and interprets the history of author Thomas Wolfe and his mother s boardinghouse as depicted in his novel Look Homeward Angel. The state historic site is located at 52 N. Market Street in downtown Asheville. For more information about any of these tours or the 2007 Wolfe Festival, contact the Wolfe Memorial at , or contactus@wolfememorial.com. Visit for a list of all 2007 Thomas Wolfe Festival events. Photos for media are also available at this web page address. Wolfe Memorial is an agency of the Division of State Historic Sites, N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina s arts, history, and culture through such programs as History Happens Here, a yearlong celebration of North Carolina s stories of struggle and freedom, memorable characters and colorful daily life. For more information, visit or call (3) # # #