Blow up the balloons and light the candles because Key West is rolling
out the red carpet for the 15th Annual Tennessee Williams Festival.
This annual, month-long celebration tributes Pulitzer Prize — winning literary icon, Tennessee Williams who resided here for 34 years. Hosted by the Key West Art & Historical Society, the annual Tennessee Williams Festival is a celebration to one of the world’s most popular literary giants with a series of art and cultural events staged at various venues around the island.
Events honoring America’s greatest playwright include a Garden Party Fundraiser, plein air painting competition, poetry and short story writing contests, academic lectures, museum tours, free outdoor film screenings, and a big birthday bash replete with cake and bubbly.
Born on March 26, 1911, Williams visited and lived in Key West from1941 until
1983 when he inhaled an eyedropper bottle cap in a freak accident and choked
to death.
During his storied life, Williams’ award-winning classics like “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof,” earned him two Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and many other literary awards. The Academy Award–winning film adaptation of his play, “The Rose Tattoo,” was filmed here in 1954. And here’s a little tidbit that you might not know: Tennessee Williams was also a prolific painter.
While his award-winning stories often explored the dynamics of the American
South and his tumultuous upbringing, he turned to painting to express other
private thoughts. Struggling with alcohol and drug abuse as well as depression,
the tormented Williams used writing and then painting as a coping mechanism.
His paintings and sketches span over 50 years and include portraits, landscapes,
caricatures, compositions, a still-life, and several self-portraits.
In 2008, local resident Dennis Beaver began curating Tennessee Williams memorabilia and exhibiting a very small collection of artifacts. Throughout the years, his collection expanded and has now evolved into the acclaimed Tennessee Williams Museum which showcases photographs, artwork, first edition plays and books, rare newspaper and magazine articles, videos, a typewriter, and other fascinating artifacts.
You can visit Key West’s Tennessee Williams Museum every M – Sa from 10 am – 5 pm at 513 Truman Avenue. For more details and a complete list of events, hit up twfest.org.
