Date: Oct 09, 2007

HOFSTRA'S "GREAT WRITERS, GREAT READINGS" SERIES CONTINUES ITS FOURTH YEAR WITH KIRAN DESAI

Monday, October 29, 2007 at 7 p.m; Guthart Cultural Center Theater, First Floor Axinn Library, South Campus

Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York ... Kiran Desai, author of Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard and The Inheritance of Loss, continues the fourth season of Hofstra’s “Great Writers, Great Readings” Series on Monday, October 29, 2007 at 7 p.m. The reading will take place at the Guthart Cultural Center Theater, located on the first floor of the Axinn Library, South Campus.

This event is free and open to the public. For information, please call (516) 463-5410.

Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss won the Man Booker Prize in 2006, given in Great Britain for the best novel of the year. It was called “an extraordinary new novel … lit by a moral intelligence at once fierce and tender” by The New York Times Book Review in a front-cover review. The Inheritance of Loss also won the National Book Critics’ Circle Award in 2007. The wisdom and humor of Ms. Desai’s writing have prompted universal acclaim.

Ms. Desai, who is the daughter of distinguished novelist Anita Desai, was born in 1971, educated in the United States, England and India, and currently divides her time between Brooklyn and India.       

“Great Writers, Great Readings” was launched by Hofstra University in recognition of the importance of writing and literature in a liberal arts education. In addition to a baccalaureate degree in English, Hofstra offers a Master of Arts in English and Creative Writing. The program’s faculty include eminent essayist Philip Lopate, writers Eric Brogger and Julia Markus and two Guggenheim Fellows: novelist Martha McPhee and poet Phillis Levin.

Writers forthcoming in "Great Writers, Great Readings" series include:

Monday, November 19, 2007, 11:15 a.m.: Edmund White, writer and editor of more than 20 books, including Forgetting Elena, Nocturnes for the King of Naples,Caracole and the autobiographical A Boy's Own Story. Location: Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater, Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library, First Floor, South Campus.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008, 11:15 a.m.: Jonathan Lethem, MacArthur Fellow whose novels include Motherless Brooklyn, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award; the best-selling The Fortress of Solitude; and 2007’s You Don't Love Me Yet. Location: Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater, Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library, First Floor, South Campus.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 11:15 a.m.: Lynn Nottage, playwright of Intimate Apparel, produced in New York at the Roundabout Theatre Company. The play received numerous awards, including the 2004 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play. Location: Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater, Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library, First Floor, South Campus

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Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution offering more than 140 undergraduate and 155 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied human services, and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. With a student-faculty ratio of 14-to-1, professors teach small classes averaging 23 students that emphasize interaction, critical thinking and analysis. The Hofstra community is driven, dynamic and energetic, helping students find and focus their strengths to prepare them for a successful future.

Related Link: Great Writers, Great Readings