Spring Break
Literary Homecoming makes its way to ECU
Elise Phillips, Assistant Pulse Editor
Issue date: 9/25/08 Section: News
Friday and Saturday mark ECU's fifth Literary Homecoming, an event that celebrates the history and culture of North Carolina through poetry, drama and music. Sponsored by Joyner Library and several university departments, the event will focus on issues pervading today's society, all centered on this year's theme, "Raising Awareness, Expressions for Social Change."
"The theme was built around the authors who are coming," said Kimberley Harper, a Joyner Library graduate assistant working with project development. "The authors basically write about the issue of social awareness and issues of social change."
All of the authors attending the event are from North Carolina or write about North Carolina.
"North Carolina is known for its rich literary history," said Elizabeth Howland, a grant and technical writing graduate assistant in Joyner who helped organize the event. "Nicholas Sparks is from here. I think it is important for students to interact with authors and see how the culture in this area affects other areas and talk about social change."
The authors include Randall Kenan, who has authored books like "Let the Dead Bury Their Dead," "A Visitation of Spirits: A Novel" and "Walking on Water: Black American Lives at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century." The majority of Kenan's novels focus on African-American life and racism in the United States. Some of his work also discusses the topic of homosexuality.
Another author involved in this event is Bland Simpson, whose work combines personal experience and history to describe a variety of topics about North Carolina. Samples of his work include "The Great Dismal: A Carolinian's Swamp Memoir" and "Heart of the Country."
The Literary Homecoming will span two days, with workshops and panels held both Friday and Saturday. All of the workshops are currently full and all have waiting lists, but the panels are open to all students and members of the community.
"Everything is open to students as well as the public-we only request that people register for events," Harper said.
"The theme was built around the authors who are coming," said Kimberley Harper, a Joyner Library graduate assistant working with project development. "The authors basically write about the issue of social awareness and issues of social change."
All of the authors attending the event are from North Carolina or write about North Carolina.
"North Carolina is known for its rich literary history," said Elizabeth Howland, a grant and technical writing graduate assistant in Joyner who helped organize the event. "Nicholas Sparks is from here. I think it is important for students to interact with authors and see how the culture in this area affects other areas and talk about social change."
The authors include Randall Kenan, who has authored books like "Let the Dead Bury Their Dead," "A Visitation of Spirits: A Novel" and "Walking on Water: Black American Lives at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century." The majority of Kenan's novels focus on African-American life and racism in the United States. Some of his work also discusses the topic of homosexuality.
Another author involved in this event is Bland Simpson, whose work combines personal experience and history to describe a variety of topics about North Carolina. Samples of his work include "The Great Dismal: A Carolinian's Swamp Memoir" and "Heart of the Country."
The Literary Homecoming will span two days, with workshops and panels held both Friday and Saturday. All of the workshops are currently full and all have waiting lists, but the panels are open to all students and members of the community.
"Everything is open to students as well as the public-we only request that people register for events," Harper said.
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