Pulitzer-winning author Jane Smiley to speak at Vassar, October 31

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley will give the William Gifford Lecture in the Villard Room, Main Building, Vassar College on Wednesday, October 31, at 5:30 p.m.

Smiley, a 1971 Vassar College graduate, has published 11 books, including "A Thousand Acres" (which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992), "The Age of Grief," "The Greenlanders," "Ordinary Love," and "Good Will," and numerous essays in such magazines as The New Yorker, The Nation, and Vogue.

After graduating from Vassar in 1971, she traveled in Europe for a year, working on an archeological dig and sightseeing, then returned to Iowa for graduate school at the University of Iowa. MFA and Ph.D. in hand, she went to work in 1981 at Iowa State University, in Ames, where she taught until 1996.

She has written on politics, farming, horse training, child-rearing, literature, impulse buying, getting dressed, Barbie, marriage, and many other topics. She is also the author of a book on craftspeople living in the Catskills. Her latest novel is "Horse Heaven." She is now at work on a novel about sex set in Hollywood.

For additional information, call the office of campus activities at (845) 437-5370. Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Cathy Jennings at (845) 437-5370, as far in advance as possible to request appropriate and reasonable accommodations.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations or information on accessibility should contact Campus Activities Office at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

This article was posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2001.