Visting Writer Series Continues: Life Experiences Pepper Author’s Stories

The Visiting Writers Series at Lenoir-Rhyne University continues on Thursday, November 3 with “An Evening with Edward P. Jones.” The event will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Belk Centrum on the L-R campus. The event is free and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required.

"There's an old chestnut about how when you ask a Southerner a question, you don't get an answer—you get a story." So the Washington Post describes Pulitzer Prize winning author Edward P. Jones. Jones' stories, prompted by questions from his enigmatic and often tragic life experiences, mold his publications: New York Times bestselling novel The Known World (2003) and his short-story collections Lost in the City (2004) and All Aunt Hagar's Children (2006).

The literary acclamations awarded to Jones mirror the profound nature of his writing. His life, however, reflects the habits of a recluse more so than one of the most celebrated authors of this generation. Nonetheless, Jones' extraordinary writing has the ability, as novelist Dave Eggers writes, to "stun on every page; there are too many breathtaking lines to count" with "its sweep, its humanity, the unvarnished perfection of its prose."

Jones, a MacArthur fellow, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2004, which added to his other distinctions including the Hemingway Foundation's 1993 PEN Award, 2003 National Book Critics Award, the 2005 International Dublin Literary Award, and several National Book Award nominations.

Other authors in the series include Isaac Anderson, Judy Goldman, Sandra Cisneros, Lynne Cherry, and Alexander McCall Smith. The series continues through April 2012.

The Lenoir-Rhyne University Visiting Writers Series is free to the public thanks to the support of sponsors. This year’s sponsors include Our State, WDAV 89.9 FM: Classical Public Radio, Catawba Science Center, North Carolina Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Catawba Valley Community Foundation, Hickory Public Library, United Arts Council of Catawba County, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Crowne Plaza Hotel of Hickory, WFAE 90.7 FM: Your NPR News Source, City of Hickory Community Relations Council, Catawba Valley Medical Center, and Rotary International.

For more information about the Visiting Writers Series at Lenoir-Rhyne University, go to http://visitingwriters.lr.edu or call 828-328-7077.