The North Carolina Literary Festival has announced that Anna Deavere Smith — actress, playwright and author — will deliver the Frank Porter Graham Lecture on Friday, September 11, as part of the 5th biennial festival. The event is free and open to the public.
Smith’s credits are myriad. In additional to her considerable work in television and film — including roles in The West Wing and in the recent film Rachel Getting Married — she also mounted the Broadway show Twilight: Los Angeles, which received two Tony nominations, an Obie, a Drama Desk Award, and a New York Drama Critics Special Citation, among other honors. Recent plays include The Arizona Project and Let Me Down Easy, and her books include Talk to Me: Travels in Media and Politics and Letters to a Young Artist: Straight-up Advice on Making a Life in the Arts for Actors, Performers, Writers, and Artists of Every Kind.
For more information about the event and about the full festival, check out the North Carolina Literary Festival’s website here.