Pittsboro, NC
H: 919-542-5029
marjorie.hudson@att.net
Travel Regions: 7
Marjorie Hudson lives on a family farm in Chatham County, N.C. with her husband, Sam, her goats, and her dogs. Her fiction, poetry, and essays have been published in Story, Yankee, Pembroke, and the North Carolina Literary Review. Her poems are anthologized in Poems from the Heron Clan. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson College. She has worked most recently with the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and the Duke University Summer Writers Program. In 2000 Hudson was named Sarah Belk Gambrell Artist-Educator of the Year for using her writing to build community. Searching for Virginia Dare: A Fool's Errand is her first book.
|
Virginia Dare in Fact and Fancy
Virginia Dare is a historical figure dimly remembered more than 400 years after her birth. She was the first English child born on American soil, part of the disastrous "Lost Colony" of Sir Walter Raleigh, which disappeared into a shroud of mystery shortly after Virginia was born. New research, archeology, dendrochronology, and close scrutiny of the sources have revealed new theories that may result in a solution to the mystery before long. More than that, however, the tangle of legends, oral histories, Native American connections, and even pop culture that have built around Virginia Dare over four centuries are astonishing, entertaining, and even amusing.
In this presentation, Ms. Hudson will explore new research and old legends, from the discovery of the "Kendall ring" to her discovery of pop culture items on E-bay, and her collection of "Virginia Dare" autographs from living persons who were named for a child shrouded in mystery.
George Moses Horton: Uncovering and Celebrating Lost Black History
About every 30 years, some scholar "discovers" George Moses Horton, the first black man to publish a book while living as a slave. Usually the new fame is short lived. Marjorie Hudson, whose farm is within five miles of Horton's dwelling place in Chatham County, has determined that his story is one which should not be forgotten. In this presentation, she will talk about how she has used nonprofit coalitions, research, education, and faith to uncover and celebrate the fascinating life and poetry of this accomplished man.
Mosaic Writing: Using Fiction, Poetry, and Memoir in Creative Nonfiction*
Marjorie Hudson thought she was writing a history book when she took on the subject of Virginia Dare and the Lost Colony in Searching for Virginia Dare: A Fool's Errand. Instead, the haunting subject, full of missing children, grieving fathers, lost nations of Native Americans, and 400 years of legends, inspired her to draw on her fiction, poetry, and memoir writing skills to tell the story. In this presentation, Ms. Hudson will read from her book and talk about her decision-making process as a writer and researcher; she will discuss how to use text fragments and voice as tile and grout, to make a satisfying "whole picture" in the mosaic form.
*This presentation includes writing exercises, if requested.
Requirements for Program: marker board
|
