Virtual Artist Talk: Panel Discussion for “The Woods Burnin’ ‘s Right”
June 22, 2023
6:00 pm
Free on Zoom
Join us for a virtual panel discussion with book artist Jessica Peterson, Dr. Jerrilyn McGregory of Florida State University, who wrote Wiregrass Country, and historian Dr. Martin Olliff of Troy University Dothan. The discussion will center around Peterson’s book The Woods Burnin’ ‘s Right discussing the oral histories from the Wiregrass and exploring why this region’s powerful culture is often overlooked and neglected when considering American culture and history.
The Woods Burnin’ ‘s Right is an artist book by artist Jessica Peterson. It is an accordion-bound artist book about the Wiregrass region of southeast Alabama. The Wiregrass has a fire ecosystem – a unique ecology dependent on the routine burning of the landscape. The book explores the delicate relationship between humans, wiregrass, and the longleaf piney forest. Peterson mixes ecological facts with the region’s historical southern gothic narratives, including folk remedies, superstitions, folklore, and stories collected from the area.
The 100 edition artist book is 9 x 4.75 inches with three pamphlets, including enclosures of wiregrass and longleaf pine. It is letterpress and laser printed. Additionally, it will be available to purchase in the WMA store on April 20, 2023.
The talk is free but registration is required.
This program is supported by a grant from the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state
affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
