Author Clyde Edgerton to speak on campus
Stetson University will host a public lecture, “Mama Broke Into Our House: How Real Events Get into Fiction,” by published author Clyde Edgerton on Thursday, Jan. 31, 7 p.m., Lee Chapel inside Elizabeth Hall, 421 N. Woodland Blvd., on Stetson’s DeLand campus. Also an accomplished musician, Edgerton will perform two musical numbers, as well. The public is invited, free of charge.
Clyde Edgerton is the author of 10 novels, a memoir, and numerous short stories and essays in New York Times Magazine, Best American Short Stories, Southern Review, Carolina Quarterly, Oxford American, Best of the South and others national publications. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow and five of his novels have been New York Times Notable Books. The Bible Salesman, his ninth novel, was published by Little, Brown in 2008. Three of his novels have been made into movies, including Raney, Killer Diller and Walking Across Egypt, starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Ellen Burstyn. His latest book is entitled, The Night Train.
He is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. With a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Edgerton is currently professor of creative writing at UNC-Wilmington, where he has taught since 2002. He served as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Creative Writing there from 1998-2002, and prior to that, taught at Campbell University, St. Andrews College, Agnes Scott College, Duke University and Millsaps College.
In addition to the Thursday night public lecture, Edgerton will also be addressing the attendees of Stetson University’s 28th annual Florida Winter Pastors’ School, which attracts pastors and church leaders of more than 20 Christian denominations from across the U.S. and Canada.
“Since many of Edgerton’s novels deal in some way with religion or religious characters, and because his experiences and expertise as a writer would be beneficial to the communication tasks of ministers, we invited Edgerton to be one of the speakers for the Pastors’ School, too,” said Stetson Professor of Religious Studies Mitchell Reddish, who also serves as director of the Pastors’ School.
The public is also invited to attend the worship service, which is part of the Pastors’ School, Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. in Lee Chapel. The speaker for the worship service will be Dr. John Buchanan, editor/publisher of The Christian Century. “We have been fortunate to have some of the world’s top scholars and religious leaders as conference speakers,” said Reddish.
For more information on the public lecture by Clyde Edgerton, please contact Stetson University’s Religious Studies Department at (386) 822-8930.
