A new writing contest will honor the legacy of Hopkinsville native Gloria Jean Watkins, known by her pen name bell hooks.
The Christian County Literacy Council on Thursday announced plans for the bell hooks Memorial Writing Contest and said the organization is seeking submissions from Kentuckians who have a tie to Christian County.
Anyone who lives in, works in, or was educated in Christian County is eligible to write a poem, essay or short story using the theme of change.
There are four age categories — 5 to 8, 9 to 12, 13 to 17, and adults. Prizes will be awarded in each age group, and a celebration of the winners and runners-up is planned on March 31 at the Alhambra Theatre. Prizes will be awarded, but the organizers have not yet announced what those will be.
Entries must be submitted by March 1 using the online entry form.
The Rotary Club of Hopkinsville, the Pennyroyal Arts Council and the Alhambra Theatre are co-sponsors of the writing contest.
hooks, who died on Dec. 15 at her home in Berea, had been recognized as one of the country’s leading feminist scholars for more than 30 years.
She was born in Hopkinsville in 1952 and attended segregated schools for Black students in Christian County during most of her childhood. She graduated from Hopkinsville High School in 1970, a few years after local schools were integrated.
hooks wrote more than 30 books on topics ranging from feminism and Black culture to love, regionalism, racism and politics. She also wrote several children’s books.
Several years after she returned to Kentucky to teach at Berea College, hooks was named to the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame in 2018.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
