FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Maddy Elledge
(706) 379-5319, [email protected]
Young Harris College’s Annual Reece Lecture to Feature Acclaimed Novelist Charles Baxter
YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – The annual Reece Lecture at Young Harris College will feature American novelist Charles Baxter on Tuesday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. in Suber Banquet Hall of the Rollins Campus Center on the Young Harris College campus. A book signing will follow the reading. Presented by YHC’s Creative Writing program and the Arts and Assemblies Committee, this event is free and open to the public.
Baxter is the author of five novels, including the best-seller “The Feast of Love,” which was named a finalist for the National Book Award, as well as six short story collections, including the recent “There’s Something I Want You to Do,” which the “New York Times Book Review” dubbed “winning and ingenious.” He has also published two books of essays on the craft of fiction, “Burning Down the House,” and “The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot,” as well as three collections of poetry.
Baxter, who teaches in the creative writing program at the University of Minnesota and in Warren Wilson’s low-residency MFA program, has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He was a recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters 1997 Award in Literature and the 2007 Award of Merit for the Short Story.
“Baxter is without a doubt one of the most important writers and thinkers about writing in our country,” said Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing James Davis May, who chairs the Arts and Assemblies Committee. “Our students closely study his work in our classes, so this will be a real treat for them and the community.”
The Byron Herbert Reece Lecture Series was established in 1966 in memory of noted poet and YHC alumnus and former instructor Byron Herbert Reece, ’40. This lecture series honors his memory and contributions to the world of letters by bringing noted writers to campus. Past lecturers include Poet Laureate of the United States Natasha Trethewey, National Book Award winner Mark Doty, American Book Award winner Kevin Young, President of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and celebrated poet Edward Hirsch, and award-winning poet and critic Tony Hoagland.
To learn more about Byron Herbert Reece, visit www.byronherbertreecesociety.org.
For more information about this event, call Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing and the Director Creative Writing Chelsea Rathburn at (706) 379-5224.
About Young Harris College
Young Harris College is a private, baccalaureate degree-granting college located in the beautiful mountains of North Georgia. Founded in 1886 and historically affiliated with The United Methodist Church, Young Harris College educates, inspires and empowers students through the highest quality liberal arts education. The College currently has more than 1,100 students across five divisions—Education, Fine Arts, Humanities, Mathematics and Science, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. The historic campus in Young Harris, Ga., has completed major campus improvements to accommodate the College’s growth. Recent LEED-certified campus improvements include the 121,000-square-foot Rollins Campus Center, new residence facilities, and a 57,000-square-foot recreation and fitness center. The College is an active member of NCAA Division II and remains a fierce competitor in the prestigious Peach Belt Conference. YHC is among fewer than 300 colleges and universities nationwide named to the 2017-2018 list of Colleges of Distinction and is listed as a “Best National Liberal Arts College” by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, visit yhc.edu.
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