Book on Samuel Gore Featured at Mississippi Festival

Sam Gore

Nationally celebrated artist Sam Gore will be spotlighted at the 2^nd annual Mississippi Book Festival in Jackson.

Set for August 20, the event at the Mississippi Capitol will showcase Barbara Gauntt’s new book “Samuel M. Gore: Blessed with Tired Hands.” It is filled with her splendid photos detailing Gore’s career as a Mississippi-based painter and sculptor for more than six decades.

Dr. Gore is the retired chairman of the Mississippi College Art Department. At age 88, the Clinton resident continues to teach one sculpting class at his alma mater. The prominent Christian artist is a 1952 MC graduate who’s received numerous awards over the years.

An editor at “The Clarion-Ledger,” Gauntt will be among more than 150 authors expected to attend the event in the capital city. Last year’s inaugural program attracted more than 5,000 attendees.

The 2015 festival drew live C-Span coverage and that will be the case again in August. A Library of Congress exhibit at the Capitol Rotunda should be a big hit with visitors for a second straight year.

The book on Sam Gore’s life and art will be discussed by a panel moderated by Betsy Bradley.

“It’s an incredible honor,” Gauntt said Wednesday at her newspaper office in Jackson. Dr. Gore will join the New Jersey native, award-winning photojournalist and author at the festival. “We are both excited.”

The book was published last August by University Press of Mississippi. Writing the book’s forward, Clinton-based artist Wyatt Waters praises his beloved Mississippi College art professor and longtime friend. “When he paints, draws, or sculpts, it becomes an act of worship that makes one want to participate in a celebration of creation.”

Organizers are delighted to devote one of the festival’s 55-minute panel discussions to the book on such an extraordinary Southern artist and mentor to many talented people.

“Sam Gore is a true icon who has influenced Mississippi artists for over a half century,” said Emily Gatlin, the festival’s author coordinator. “And it’s even more special that we get to include esteemed Mississippi photojournalist Barbara Gauntt.”

The festival in Jackson will feature live interviews with writers like Mississippian Richard Ford, and discussions on books of the late writer Willie Morris, who grew up in Yazoo City. There will be talks about the writings of the Civil Rights era, the classics of William Faulkner and much more.

The program will open that Saturday at 10 a.m. and continue through the late afternoon hours. Teams of volunteers are being encouraged to sign up to help make the 2016 Mississippi Book Festival a success.

For more information, go to http://msbookfestival.com