WHEN: Conference, Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 20-22; Proulx lecture, Nov. 20, 7:30-9 p.m.
WHERE: Conference, Cornhusker Hotel, 333 S. 13th St.; Proulx lecture, Nebraska Union, 1400 R St.
Lincoln, Neb., Nov. 10, 2003 -- The Plains Humanities Alliance, one of nine interdisciplinary regional centers funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, will play host to a national conference, "Regionalism and the Humanities," Nov. 20-22 at the Cornhusker Hotel, 333 S. 13th St., in Lincoln, Neb.
The alliance, based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is dedicated to preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of the Great Plains region.
Conference sessions will be held at the Cornhusker Hotel from 9 a.m. Nov. 20 through 2:30 p.m. Nov. 22. A pre-conference tour of Willa Cather's home town of Red Cloud will be offered Nov. 19. Scholars and regionalists from each of the nine NEH regional centers, as well as others from across the country, will attend the conference.
E. Annie Proulx, award-winning author of the novel "Postcards," will present an original talk, "The Role of Region in Fiction," that will include readings from her works from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 20, at the Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. A book signing at the Great Plains Art Collection at Hewit Place, 1155 Q St., will follow the reading. The lecture and signing are free and open to the public. Seats at the lecture will be reserved for conference registrants.
Proulx became the first woman to win the prestigious PEN/Faulkner book award, in 1993, for "Postcards," her debut novel. The award is conferred by fellow authors from a group of about 300 novels and short stories. The following year she won a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for her novel "The Shipping News."
Proulx began writing fiction in her 50s, when Scribner published her collection of short stories, "Heart Songs," and her first novel, "Postcards." She is also the author of a collection of short stories, "Close Range, Wyoming Stories," as well as another novel, "Accordion Crimes." Proulx's newest novel, "That Old Ace in the Hole," was published in December.
Additional featured conference speakers are William R. Ferris, past chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities and a widely recognized leader in Southern studies and African American music and folklore; and Gary E. Moulton, the Thomas C. Sorensen professor of the American West at UNL and the recipient of the J. Franklin Jameson Award of the American Historical Association for his 13-volume edition of the "Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition," published by the University of Nebraska Press.
More than 40 conference sessions will allow scholars from around the country to explore aspects of regionalism as an idea, concept, and practice. Topics will include the legacy of Puritans in New England, surfing on the Pacific coast, pioneers on the Great Plains, or the new urbanism in Florida.
Conference registration is $110. Student registration is $45. For more information and a full copy of the conference program, Cather Tour information, and lodging details, visit the Web site of the Plains Humanities Alliance or call the alliance office at (402) 472-9478.
CONTACT: Deborah Eisloeffel, Plains Humanities Alliance, (402) 472-9478
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Posted by Tom Simons, Office of University Communications
Phone: (402) 472-8514, Fax: (402) 472-7825