Award-winning English author to speak at 75th Literary Awards
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A public reading by the English novelist will be at 8 p.m. in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse. The reading is free and open to the public.
Byatt, author of the Booker Prize-winning "Possession: A Romance," also will speak about the writing process during the Literary Awards Banquet, 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Purdue Memorial Union's North Ballroom. The banquet honors winners of more than 65 prizes given in the Literary Awards Competition to undergraduate and graduate students at Purdue and to high school students from across Indiana. The prizes are worth $14,000 total. Banquet tickets, which are $15 for students and $21 for adults, can be purchased in Heavilon Hall, Room 324, or by calling the English department at (765) 494-3740. March 17 is the last day to buy tickets for the banquet. Ticket price includes dinner, the awards ceremony and Byatt's talk.
"She is one of the most astonishing writers working today, and her real skill is in creating characters and worlds — whether it's 1960s London or Victorian England — that are completely believable and multi-dimensional," said Dorsey Armstrong, associate professor of English and chair of the Literary Awards. "She is unique in that her work is extremely popular with both the general reading public and literary critics, who have given her very high praise."
Byatt is also author of "Angels and Insects," "The Virgin in the Garden" and "Babel Tower." Two of her books —"Angels and Insects" and "Possession" — were adapted into motion pictures. Her most recent novel, "A Whistling Woman" (published in 2002) completes her series of four novels that includes "The Virgin in the Garden," "Still Life" and "Babel Tower." Her recent short story collections are "Elementals: Stories of Fire and Ice" and "Little Black Book of Stories." She is a regular contributor to many British and American newspapers, as well as The New Yorker magazine.
"Of course, Byatt is best known in America for 'Possession,' in part because the film starred Gwyneth Paltrow, but what is most amazing about this book are her character creations, many of whom are also writers. Not only is she crafting a compelling a story, but she is also creating the strikingly different voices and writing styles of her characters so believably, it is remarkable that this is the work of just one person. "
Originally from Yorkshire, England, Byatt studied at Cambridge and Oxford universities and Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. Byatt, who taught English and American literature at University College in London, was appointed a commander in the Order of the British Empire in Buckingham Palace in 1990 and made a dame of the British Empire in 1999 honoring her work as a writer and overall service and contributions to the United Kingdom.
Last year's Literary Awards program featured National Book Award winner Maxine Hong Kingston. Since 1928, the English department has brought many writers to campus to speak at the awards banquet, including Tony Kushner, Tennessee Williams, John Irving and Louise Erdrich. The event is sponsored by the Department of English and Purdue Libraries.
Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, (765) 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Source: Dorsey Armstrong, (765) 494-8576, darmstrong@cla.purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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