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Acclaimed
writer Loren Cary, author of The Price of a Child, will
be the keynote speaker at La Salle University’s
forum on “The African-American Family” on
November 5th. The event, which starts at 7:30 p.m., is
free and open to the public at the University’s
Dan Rodden Theatre. Ms. Cary will stay after the event
for a book-signing and reception.
A Philadelphia native, Cary gained attention for her first
book, Black Ice, a memoir of her years as a student, then
teacher, at St. Paul's, an exclusive New England boarding
school. It was chosen as a Notable Book for 1992 by the
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American
Library Association. Her 1995 novel, The Price of a Child, is
set in pre-Civil War Philadelphia and was inspired by a true
story of an escaped slave. Last year, the book was selected
for the “One Book, One Philadelphia” project, a
regional plan to promote reading and literacy by turning Philadelphia
and its suburbs into a book club.
The
event is part of the University’s Social Work Department’s
continuing education workshops for social workers, mental
health professionals and the general public. (Licensed social
workers receive continuing education credit for attending
the workshop.)
“We
wanted to present a perspective on the African-American family
that was linked into popular literature,” said Dr. Bonni
Zetick, a professor of social work at La Salle. “For
myself, the fact that the book takes place in Philadelphia,
and mentions things such as Dock Street and the Delaware River,
makes her appearance even more appealing.”
(Lorene
Cary appears through DPK & Associates, Inc. Funding for
the event has been provided by the Joseph and Sally Handleman
Charitable Trust and by the La Salle University Concert and
Lecture Series.) For more information call 215-951-1108.
Also
appearing on the panel will be Yvette Lassiter, M.S.W., a
La Salle University social work graduate who is an adoption
supervisor with the Women’s Christian Alliance in Philadelphia;
Dr. Judith Musser, a professor of English at La Salle University;
and Melvena Trusty, a social work student at La Salle. Moderating
the discussion will be Brother Brian Henderson, F.S.C., Director
of St. Gabriel’s Hall, a juvenile center run by the
Christian Brothers, the order that operates La Salle University.
Cary
was graduated from St. Paul's School in 1974 and received
B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania
in 1978. She won a Thouron Fellowship for British-U.S. student
exchange and studied at Sussex University. She has received
Doctorates in Humane Letters from Colby College in Maine,
Keene State College in New Hampshire, and Chestnut Hill College
in Philadelphia.
In 1998, she founded Art Sanctuary, a non-profit lecture and
performance series that brings black thinkers and artists
to speak and perform at the Church of the Advocate, a National
Historic Landmark Building in North Philadelphia.
Currently a senior lecturer in creative writing at the University
of Pennsylvania, where she was a 1998 recipient of the Provost's
Award for Distinguished Teaching, Cary has lectured throughout
the U.S.
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