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S H O U T O U T S Ho no r i n g Ro n “Ro n z o” S h a p i ro Local artist Bill Beckwith recently created a bronze plaque to honor the spirit of Oxford’s Ron “Ronzo” Shapiro. It is on display at The Powerhouse. Shapiro was many things to the Oxford community. He had a passion for the arts. He was the founder of The Hoka, an old cotton warehouse that he turned into a movie theater that played independent films. The Oxford Film Festival honored him by naming their award the “Ronzo,” and many knew him as “the Cultural Ambassador of Oxford.” He died in August 2019. Beckwith created the artwork at Inferno Art Foundry in Atlanta; the entire process took around seven months to complete. The idea for the project came to fruition when Mike Mitchell, a friend of Shapiro’s, came across a photograph of the late “cultural ambassador” taken by local photographer, Bruce Newman.
Mitchell approached Beckwith with the idea of memorializing Ron in bronze, and Newman gave them permission to use his photograph for the project. “Ronzo never had a bad day,” Beckwith said. “He was just one of the most positive people you would ever want to meet. He loved to laugh and have a good time, and to make other people laugh and have a good time… I hope the piece captures Ron’s great attitude and fun-loving, generous spirit.” The piece was unveiled at a private showing on Feb. 23 at The Powerhouse. Following the event, Beckwith’s newest work will remain on display for public. “I was overjoyed to be a part of helping make this happy piece,” Beckwith said. “I hope it helps us all slow down, think about our priorities, appreciate and enjoy life and our neighbors and remember and honor the spirit of our friend, Ronzo.”
G l it t e ra r y Fe s t iva l D e but s i n O x fo rd Mississippi has undergone several changes throughout its history, and Oxford is preparing for yet another landmark when the University of Mississippi hosts the Glitterary Festival, April 16-18. Associate professor of English at the University of Mississippi and poet laureate of Mississippi, Beth Ann Fennelly, is working with several partners in creating Mississippi’s inaugural queer literature conference, the Glitterary Festival. The Sarah Isom Center, UM English department, Center for Southern Culture and the Ole Miss Alumni Association joined forces with several university students to put on this free, mostly virtual event that’s open to the public. It is expected to draw more than 30 writers, poets and essayists. “There’s a lot of interesting work being done in Mississippi at the intersection of
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literature and sexuality,” Fennelly said. “The organization that’s really spearheaded a lot of this thinking and organizing is the Sarah Isom Center, of which I am an affiliate. None of this would be happening if they (the Sarah Isom Center) weren’t involved.” Fennelly received a poet laureate grant from the Academy of American Poets to assist with the three-day festival.
Dorothy Allison and Jericho Brown are the festival’s featured keynote speakers. Brown is a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet from Louisiana, and Allison is an award-winning editor and author from South Carolina. A watch party for Allison’s interview, conducted by graduate student Sarah Heying, will be held outdoors in the Grove. “I hope that people from outside the area will have a deeper understanding of the diversity and creativity of people in Mississippi,” Fennelly said. “I hope that people from Mississippi, or people from the university and local community, will have the sense that Mississippi is a more embracing place than perhaps they had realized.” For more information about the events, including the schedule of events, visit glitteraryfestival.com.
