VCU news

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley and Brian Eckert

RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond community will have the rare opportunity in early October to hear from Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, author of “Sula,” “Song of Solomon,” “Beloved,” “Paradise” and other acclaimed novels.

Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond have partnered to bring Morrison to Richmond for two appearances – one at each university – Oct. 2 and 3.

Morrison will read from her works and answer questions at VCU’s Siegel Center, Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m.  The next afternoon, Thursday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m., she appears at the Robins Center at the University of Richmond to lecture on the general topic of “Literature as an Agent of Social Change."

Both events are free and open to the public.  Advance tickets are required and may be reserved by calling VCU at 828-3836 for the Oct. 2 Siegel Center event and UR at 289-8980 for the Oct. 3 Robins Center event.  Tickets for the Oct. 2 VCU event also are available at the Siegel Center box office and at area Barnes & Noble Booksellers locations.

The Morrison events are an important piece of programs at both institutions.  At Virginia Commonwealth University, her appearance is part of the yearlong series on Literature, Crisis and the Community sponsored by the VCU Honors Program and the Department of English.  At the University of Richmond, Morrison’s visit is an integral part of its biennial Richmond Quest, the campus-wide academic program that this year is focused on the question: “When does discovery inspire change?”

Morrison has won numerous prestigious awards for her work, including the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Award.  In 1996, she received the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.  She has served on the National Council of the Arts for six years and is a member of Africa Watch and the Helsinki Watch Committees on Human Rights.