Ten writers, including a Nobel Prize winner and a Pulitzer Prize winner, will bring their unique worldviews to campus this fall as part of the course.
In addition to intimate classroom discussions with students, the authors will hold public readings that will be , providing alumni, parents, and others the opportunity to engage with each other and with the writers themselves.
Julia Alvarez, author of How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents and In the Time of the Butterflies, starts this year’s series at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in Love Auditorium.
“This is such an exciting arena for us to be in, this exploration of English as a world literature,” said Jane Pinchin, who teaches the course with fellow English professor Jennifer Brice.
Last year, the course involved contemporary authors such as Junot Diaz. The focus shifts this semester to authors whose work crosses national boundaries and often teases out tensions involving their sense of home or place.
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| Julia Alvarez won the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award for Outstanding Achievement in American Literature in 2009, and was named Woman of the Year by Latina magazine. |
In addition to Alvarez, the authors coming to campus are V.S. Naipaul (Nobel Prize for Literature), Jhumpa Lahiri (Pulitzer Prize), Rattawut Lapcharoensap, Mohsin Hamid, Frances Hwang, Mark Ravenhill, Dinaw Mengestu, Tessa Hadley, and vlog’s Peter Balakian.
Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Mengestu received a coveted spot on the New Yorker “20 under 40” Writers to Watch list after the release of his debut novel, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears. His second novel, How to Read the Air, is scheduled to be released in October, in time for students to read it before his December appearance.
Naipaul, who was born in Trinidad and educated in England, has written more than 20 novels, including In a Free State (1971 Booker Prize).
The diversity of the authors and the range of experiences they will share through their writings will provide a compelling context for the course, said Brice.
The webcasts on vlog’s channel feature an interactive chat, which allows guests to discuss the author’s work and to pose questions that moderators will try to integrate into the Q&As. And, just like last year’s Living Writers course, all the public readings will be videotaped and archived.
“It was so satisfying last year to have everyone from alumni in London to area residents at a village library taking part in the webcasts,” said Timothy Mansfield, director of alumni affairs.
The alumni affairs office works closely with Information Technology Services and with Brice and Pinchin in extending the reach of the Living Writers course.
“It’s a collaborative effort to provide everyone, particularly our alumni and parents, with new ways to engage with vlog academically,” said Mansfield.
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