Noted author to speak at NSU Fletcher Lecture Series

Tri-Parish Times

It’s time again for the annual Nicholls State University’s Fletcher Lecture Series sponsored by the NSU Department of Language and Literature.

Since 1984, the Fletcher Lecture Series has brought a renowned scholar or creative writer to the Nicholls community, said a university spokesperson. This year’s lecturer is Randall Kendall, author of “Walking on Water: Black American Lives at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century.”

Following the lecture theme of American studies, Kenan’s keynote address is titled, “The Fire This Time: James Baldwin and the Current State of Race and Class in American.” The address also pertains to his upcoming book “This Fire This Time.”

“We are trying to get over the stereotypes that we have of American history, particular in the African American culture,” NSU professor Dr. Allen Alexander said.

According to Kenan’s publicist Tanya Bickely, the author spent eight years traveling throughout the U.S. and conducting interviews with more than 200 people. Kenan’s first novel, “A Visitation of Spirits,” was published in 1989.

His second book “Let the Dead Bury Their Dead,” was nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Fiction. It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and was also among The New York Times Notable Books of 1992.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Kenan spent his childhood in Chinquapin, N. C. He graduated from the University of North Carolina, and worked on the editorial staff of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

The UNC graduate also taught writing at Sarah Lawrence College and Columbia University. In 1994, Kenan became the first William Blackburn Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Duke University. In 1995, he was the Edouard Morot-Sir Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The prominent author has also been the John and Renee Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi and taught at the University of Memphis.

The lecture will be held Thursday, Nov. 8, at 6 p.m. It will begin with a cheese and wine reception at 5 p.m. in Talbot Hall. A question-and-answer session will immediately after the lecture.

On Nov. 10 and 11, the Fletcher Lecture series will conclude with the American Studies Conference, “Crossings: Assimilation and Acculturation.” The conference, will consist a of paper and panel presentation, Alexander said.

Noted author to speak at NSU Fletcher Lecture Series