From a press release:
American Novelist Jesmyn Ward to speak at LRU
Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Visiting Writers Series will present American novelist Jesmyn Ward on Monday, January 19 at 7:00 p.m. in Belk Centrum. Co-sponsored by the LRU Office of Multicultural Affairs, this event is open to the public and free for all guests. No tickets or reservations are required. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Jesmyn Ward is an associate professor of English at Tulane University and award winning author of three novels. Her first novel, Where the Line Bleeds, was published in 2008 and a year later, received a Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) Honor Award. For her second novel, Salvage the Bones, she received the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction and a 2012 Alex Award. Her latest book, published in 2013, is a memoir titled Men We Reaped and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Autobiography and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.
Prior to her appointment at Tulane, Ward served as an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of South Alabama. She was writer in residence at the University of Mississippi for the 2010-2011 academic year and, from 2008-2010, a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. Ward received her Masters of Fine Arts degree in 2005 from the University of Michigan where she won five Hopwood Awards for her fiction, essays, and drama.
Ward was born and raised in DeLisle, Mississippi. Her writings depict the lives of African Americans growing up in the south struggling with poverty and natural disaster. She draws from her own personal experiences including the loss of her brother and survival of Hurricane Katrina.
In its 26th season, the Visiting Writers Series brings world-renowned authors to the LR campus and community. Sponsors of the 2014-2015 Series include: Crowne Plaza–Hickory, WFAE 90.7-FM, Our State: North Carolina, Hickory Public Library, United Arts Council of Catawba County, and Barnes and Noble Booksellers.
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