Source: Karin Westman, 785-532-2190, westmank@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Darrah Tinkler, 785-532-2535, media@k-state.edu
Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012
Fall classics: English department offerings bring great literature to campus
MANHATTAN -- The department of English at Kansas State University is offering three opportunities to hear great literature in November.
"This month, we celebrate the classics of the Victorian past and the new classics of the contemporary moment," said Karin Westman, head of the department of English. "Join us to hear the tales of Dickens performed by Michael Donnelly, associate professor of English, as well as the work of two contemporary women writers who show us perspectives on life in the United States."
All events are free and open to the public. They include:
* "A Celebration of Charles Dickens' Bicentenary" will take place from 7-8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, at the K-State Alumni Center. Celebrate Dickens' 200th birthday with Michael Donnelly in the lead role. He will read some of Dickens' most famous scenes as Dickens performed them for his audiences: Mrs. Gamp from "Martin Chuzzlewit," Sikes and Nancy from "Oliver Twist," and Mr. Bob Sawyer's Party from "The Pickwick Papers."
* On Tuesday, Nov. 13, poet Janice Gould will read from her work at 4 p.m. in the K-State Student Union's Little Theatre. Gould is a Koyangk'auwi -- Konkow or Concow -- Maidu writer and scholar of mixed European and Concow -- or Koyangk'auwi -- descent. She is the author of "Beneath My Heart" and "Earthquake Weather," and co-editor with Dean Rader of "Speak to Me Words: Essays on Contemporary American Indian Poetry." Gould has won awards for her writing from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Astraea Foundation. The reading is co-sponsored with K-State's Creative Writing Enthusiasts, the LGBT Resource Center and the department of women's studies.
* Novelist Lauren Groff will read from her work at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, in the Little Theatre. Groff's first novel, "The Monsters of Templeton," released in 2008, was a New York Times Editors' Choice selection and bestseller, and it was short-listed for the Orange Prize for New Writers. Her latest novel, "Arcadia," released in 2012, tells the story of the first child born in a fictional 1960s' commune in upstate New York. It has received praise from the New York Times Sunday Book Review, the Washington Post and the Miami Herald, among others. The reading is co-sponsored with K-State's Creative Writing Enthusiasts and department of women's studies.
For more information, visit the department of English website at http://www.k-state.edu/english or email english@k-state.edu.
