Tennessee Williams Birthday Celebration Month Wraps Up with a Birthday Party and Awards Ceremony

March 20, 2023 – (Key West, FL).  Key West Art & Historical Society’s month-long Tennessee Williams Birthday Celebration, which remembers the Pulitzer-prize winning literary icon with an array of arts and cultural events, wraps up this week with a party held on what would have been Williams’ 112th birthday.  The bash, which is free to attend, will be held at the Tennessee Williams Museum, 513 Truman Avenue, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Since its inception in 2011, the Tennessee Williams Birthday Celebration has commemorated the artistry of the legendary writer who is widely considered to be America’s greatest playwright.  Williams, who first visited the island in 1941, called Key West “home” for over thirty years after he bought a quaint clapboard house on Duncan Street.  His works have won several Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards, and Academy Awards. Some of the most iconic are “The Glass Menagerie,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Suddenly, Last Summer,” “Camino Real,” and “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

“Williams’ residence in Key West for over three decades truly put our island on the literary map.  Writers, actors, producers, set designers, investors, and socialites flocked to here to visit the famous playwright,” says Dennis Beaver, curator for the Tennessee William Museum.  “The annual birthday party honors the impacts Williams made on the island and reminds us that his works are still as relevant today as when they were released decades ago.”

During the Tennessee Williams Birthday Party, attendees will be treated to light snacks, bubbly, and birthday cake.  Beaver will be on hand to showcase several of the museum’s significant objects including Williams’ typewriter, a model of his former home on Duncan Street, and champagne coupes once owned by the writer.  Winners of the annual short story and poetry contests will also be revealed, segments of which will be read aloud before they are published online on the Society’s website.  The writing contests are generously supported by Preferred Properties realtor Laura McChesney, Berkshire Hathaway realtor Martha Robinson, and Tennessee Williams Museum co-founder Bert Whitt.

For more information about the birthday party, visit www.kwahs.org/upcoming-events or contact Cori Convertito at [email protected] or 305-295-6616 x507.  The Tennessee Williams Museum, at 513 Truman Avenue, is open every day from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for self-guided tours.

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