blackbird online journal spring 2002 vol.1 no. 1

NONFICTION

LAURA BROWDER 

If This Is Tuesday, It Must Be Montgomery:
Adventures in Documentary Film Making 

On Friday, February 2, 2007, Laura Browder, an English Department faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University spoke about the challenges of moving from writing for the page to writing for the screen, that is, being involved as a writer, interviewer, and commentator in the making of a documentary. Browder's comments provide an inside view to process along with a snapshot of a documentary work in progress. The documentary examines the life of Asa Carter, a white supremacist and speech writer for George Wallace, who recast himself as Forrest Carter, the Cherokee author of The Education of Little Tree. Asa Carter is also, in part, the subject of Browder's book, Slippery Characters.

Browder's presentation was the second in the VCU English Department's new First Friday faculty lecture series. It is recreated here in three parts. Streaming audio accompanies a transcription of the talk; the second section is the presentation of the 2005 promo video, Gone to Texas: The Forrest Carter Story. This is followed by a third section with further commentary and audience questions.  


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