4/27/99
Attention editors: At the end of this release is a list of photos of authors that can be downloaded from the Web.
ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University's 14th annual Spring Literary Festival in May features five nationally renowned authors who are among the most respected writers in their genres of poetry, fiction and essay.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Ford, fiction writer Ann Beattie, poets Mark Strand and Anne Carson and essayist Vivian Gornick will present lectures and public readings of their works during the festival May 12 through 14. The presentations, which are free and open to the public, will take place at 194 Irvine Auditorium on the Athens campus.
"We like to feature a variety of writers whose work is well respected," said Jean Cunningham, coordinator of the literary festival, which is sponsored by the Creative Writing Program in the Department of English. "That's what attracts literature fans from across the country to Athens."
Assistant Professor of English Mark Halliday, who served on the committee that selected the writers, believes this year's festival represents a rare chance for literature fans to see their favorite authors read from their own work and talk about their experiences writing.
"It's quite unusual to get this kind of mix of well-known writers at a literary festival," Halliday said. "The fact that they're here for three days gives people more of a chance to get to know them during readings, lectures and question-and-answer periods."
Ford is renowned for "Independence Day," a novel about a male character struggling to connect spiritually and emotionally with his life. In 1996, the novel became the first to win both the Pulitzer Prize and the Pen/Faulkner Award. Ford's other works include the novels "A Piece of My Heart," "Wildlife" and "The Ultimate Good Luck." His latest work, "Women with Men," is a collection of stories.
Beattie, known as one of the most prolific writers of her generation, published "Distortions," a full-length collection of short stories, and her first novel, "Chilly Scenes of Winter," before the age of 30. Since then, she has published six novels and six collections of stories, including "Park City: New and Selected Stories."
Strand is the author of eight books of poetry, including his most recent collection of poems "Blizzard of One." His other works include "Dark Harbor," "The Late Hours," "Reasons for Moving" and "The Continuous Life," for which he was the co-recipient of the 1992 Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry. He teaches at the University of Chicago.
Gornick, an essayist, journalist and memoirist, is the author of several books, including "Approaching Eye Level," "Fierce Attachments" and most recently "The End of the Novel of Love," a collection of 12 critical essays on love themes. A faculty member at Pennsylvania State University, her work appears frequently in The Nation, The Village Voice and The Women's Review of Books.
The myths and legends of ancient Greece are a source of inspiration for poet Carson, who is the author of the novel "Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse," a contemporary interpretation of a Greek myth. Her other works include "Eros the Bittersweet," "Glass, Irony and God" and "Plainwater." Carson directs the graduate studies program in classics at McGill University in Montreal.
The festival begins May 12 in Irvine Auditorium with readings by Carson at 7:30 p.m. and Ford at 8:30 p.m. On May 13, lectures will be presented by Strand at noon, Ford at 1 p.m. and Beattie at 7:30 p.m., and Gornick will read from her work at 8:30 p.m. On May 14, lectures will be presented by Carson at noon and Gornick at 1 p.m., and readings will be given by Beattie at 7:30 p.m. and Strand at 8:30 p.m. Books by the visiting writers will be for sale in the Irvine Auditorium lobby throughout the event.
Here are photos of four of the authors that can be downloaded
from the Web:
Richard Ford: http://www.ohio.edu/news/pix/Ford2.jpg
Anne Beattie:
http://www.ohio.edu/news/pix/Beattie.jpg
Mark Strand: http://www.ohio.edu/news/pix/Strand.jpg
Vivian Gornick:
http://www.ohio.edu/news/pix/Gornick2.jpg
