Texas Tech to Host Literary Lubbock Event
April 25, 2011
Literary Lubbock gives people who love books a chance to talk with authors and hear their stories.
Written by Jaryn Jones
Texas Tech will host the Literary Lubbock benefit dinner at 5:30 p.m. May 5 at the Merket Alumni Center. The event features authors whose books were recently published by Texas Tech University Press (TTUP).
“This evening has become a signature literary event in Lubbock,” said Robert Mandel, director of TTUP. “For people who love books, Literary Lubbock gives them a unique chance to talk with a wide variety of authors, hear their stories and find out about their writing experiences.”
Local writer and musician Andy Wilkinson will serve as the evening’s host. Authors will sign books during a reception prior to the dinner that will feature local wines and a meal prepared by Chef Rocky Rockwell. All featured books will be available for purchase at the event.
This year’s featured authors include:
- Monte Akers
Akers is the author of “The Accidental Historian: Tales of Trash and Treasure.” The book chronicles the author’s fascination with little-known incidents in history. Akers graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Houston and currently practices law in Austin.
- Ernesto Cardenal
Cardenal, widely acknowledged as Latin America’s greatest living poet, is the author of more than 35 books. “The Origin of Species and Other Poems” contains 20 of his poems, including the title poem, an extended meditation on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
- Paul H. Carlson and Tom Crum
The pair of authors investigates the so-called “Battle of Pease River” in their book “Myth, Memory, and Massacre: The Pease River Capture of Cynthia Ann Parker.” The book questions traditional knowledge and interpretations of the history of Texas.
Carlson is a professor emeritus of history at Texas Tech and a member of both the Texas State Historical Association and the West Texas Historical Association. Crum is a retired state district judge and a past president of the West Texas Historical Association.
- Pat Carr
Carr’s memoir “One Page at a Time: On a Writing Life” highlights moments in her life that influenced her role as a writer in single-page episodes. Carr grew up next to a Japanese relocation camp in Wyoming in the 1940s. She is the author of 15 books and currently resides in northwest Arkansas.
- Robert Lee Maril
Maril is a professor of sociology and the founding director of the Center for Diversity and Inequality Research at East Carolina University. His book “The Fence: National Security, Public Safety, and Illegal Immigration along the U.S.-Mexico Border” investigates the reality of the border through first-person interviews and analysis of government documents.
- Michael Ventura
Ventura’s essay collection “If I Was a Highway” conveys his impressions of America and features Lubbock and the Southwest as the book’s home base. White has written more than 1,000 articles and eight books and currently resides in Lubbock.
- Richard D. White, Jr.
White’s biography “Will Rogers: A Political Life” argues that humorist Will Rogers was not only the nation’s most popular humorist but also a political insider with a strong influence on public opinion. White is currently a professor of public administration and an associate dean at Louisiana State University.
The event benefits the book series “Grover E. Murray Studies in the American Southwest,” which honors Texas Tech’s former president. Individual tickets are $60 and a table of eight can be reserved for $480. Sponsorship tables are also available for $650 and $1,000.
To reserve tickets or for more information contact TTUP at (806) 742-2982.