WHAT: Columbus State University and a myriad of partners are celebrating Carson McCullers’ 100th birthday this week, culminating with a free event on Sunday, Feb. 19, featuring:

· The debut of actress/director Karen Allen’s short film "A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud.” based on the McCullers short story

· "Carson's Favorite Music" curated by Paul Hostetter, performed by CSU’s Schwob School of Music

· A dramatic excerpt from “A Member of the Wedding” under the direction of Larry Dooley

· Monologues by a CSU actress in the role of Carson McCullers, written by Scott Wilkerson

WHEN: Sunday, Feb. 19 at 4 p.m.

WHERE: RiverCenter for the Performing Arts

WHY: Carson McCullers was a novelist, short-story writer, playwright, essayist and poet who grew up in the Southern home that is now Columbus State University’s Carson McCullers Center for Writers and Musicians. Known as one of the most significant American writers of the 20th century, she amassed a collection of work including five novels, two plays, 20 short stories, more than two dozen nonfiction pieces, a book of children’s verses, a small number of poems and an unfinished autobiography. She is best known for her novels “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter,” “The Ballad of the Sad Cafe,” “Reflections in a Golden Eye,” and “The Member of the Wedding,” all published between 1940 and 1946. At least four of her works have been made into films.