March 16, 2005 -- Three acclaimed photographers of the Delta will be part of Delta Blues Symposium XI: Imagining the Delta, sponsored by the Department of English and Philosophy at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.

Maude Schuyler Clay, David Rae Morris, and West Freeman will participate in a panel, “Delta Photography,” on Saturday, April 9, at 1:30 p.m. in the Grand Hall of Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Dr.

The event, moderated by ASU English professor Michael Spikes, is free and open to the public.

Maude Schuyler Clay, a native of Greenwood, Miss., attended the Memphis Academy of Art. While working in New York City, she realized that most of her best photographs were of the Delta. When she returned to Mississippi in 1987, she continued to do portrait work–for which she received the Mississippi Arts and Letters Award in photography in 1988 and again in 1992.

Her black-and-white photographs of Delta scenes produced the book “Delta Land” in 1999. Her work has appeared in “Esquire,” “The New York Times Magazine,” “The London Observer Magazine,” and other periodicals. She currently lives in Sumner, Miss.

David Rae Morris, son of Delta writer Willie Morris, was born in England and grew up in New York City, where he studied at the International Center of Photography. He received a bachelor of arts in photography and theater design from Hampshire College and an master of arts in journalism and mass communications from the University of Minnesota. His work has appeared in “Time,” “Newsweek,” “Mother Jones,” and other magazines. In 2002 he provided photographs for “My Mississippi,” written by Willie Morris. David Rae Morris lives in New Orleans.

Another New Orleans resident, West Freeman has produced–in collaboration with Jim Fraiser--two books of photographs: “Majesty of the Mississippi Delta” (2002) and “The French Quarter of New Orleans” (2003). His photographs have appeared in several regional publications (“Delta Magazine,” “Southern Accents,” and “New Orleans Magazine”) as well as such national periodicals as “Architectural Digest.” He has mounted several shows of his work at New Orleans galleries, and his photographs are in the collections of the Bibliotheca de Paris and New Orleans Museum of Art.

Funding and other assistance has been provided by the Department of Art, Department of History, Department of Theatre, Department of Music, Heritage Studies Ph.D. Program, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Office of Diversity Initiatives, and Lecture~Concert Series.