Parallel Lives performance, April 8, 2002

Noted novelist Beverly Coyle, a visiting professor of English at Vassar College, and award-winning journalist Bill Maxwell came of age in nearby towns in the South at the end of the Jim Crow era. In their performance of "Parallel Lives: Stories of a Divided World" both writers reflect on race, religion, class, and the life-altering events of their growing years in the midst of segregation.
Coyle and Maxwell will perform "Parallel Lives" at 7 p.m. Monday, April 8, in Rockefeller Hall, room 200, at Vassar College. Admission is free and the performance is open to the public. "Parallel Lives" is part of the Frederic C. Wood Lecture Series sponsored by the Department of Religion at Vassar. Following their performance, the writers will invite the audience to respond and reflect upon their own experiences related to race, class, and prejudice.
"Parallel Lives" is an evening of stories first commissioned by the Florida Humanities Council in 1998 as part of its race initiative for Florida. Written and performed by Maxwell and Coyle, "Parallel Lives" is about moving from childhood to adulthood by two people who grew up in a legally segregated world and who are now, as adults, finding a way to talk about what separates and joins them. Since that time, "Parallel Lives" has been presented in many disparate settings, from corporate conference rooms to school auditoriums throughout the U.S. Coyle and Maxwell have joined in collaboration with corporate trainers and teachers to develop accompanying workshops to augment and implement the lessons learned within their presentation.
Coyle has written three novels (in Penguin paperbacks). "The Kneeling Bus" and "Taken In" each draw on her stories of growing up in Florida. "In Troubled Waters" is the story of a contemporary white family, one of whom is haunted by his ties to the Ku Klux Klan. The New York Times placed "In Troubled Waters" on its "Notable Novels List" in 1994 and the book was included in "Ten Best Novels of the Year" list of the American Library Association. Recently several schools and universities have worked with Coyle in the teaching of her work. Coyle taught for two years at the University of Newcastle in Australia. In 1977, she took an appointment at Vassar College where she held the Mary Augusta Scott Chair of Literature. She has written two books on the poet Wallace Stevens.
Maxwell is an editorial writer for the Pulitzer Prize-winning St. Petersburg Times. Selected columns are distributed through the New York Times Syndicate and are enjoyed nationally and internationally. "Through Bill's Eyes," a collection of Maxwell's three decades of writing, was published in 2001 by the University Presses of Florida. Maxwell made an early mark in investigative journalism through his reports on labor and migrant farm workers of Florida when he wrote for the Fort Pierce Tribune. His honors include
the "General Excellence in Commentary Award," presented in two different years by the Florida Press Club, and the "Community Champion Awards" presented by the American Trial Lawyers Association of Orlando. He has taught in several journalism schools and founded his own non-profit organization, the Role Models Foundation, to foster and support high school minority students' interest in writing.
"Parallel Lives" is directed by Cecilia deWolf whose work in the entertainment world includes, most recently, developing and directing the play "Under a Montana Moon," conceived and performed by Bill Bowers. DeWolf works as an actor in New York City and has performed in plays by Steve Martin, Susan Kim, David Rache, and Stuart Spencer, as well as writing and performing her own one-woman show. She is a founding member, performer, and served as artistic director of the Stonehill Theatre Project.
For additional information, call the Department of Religion at (845) 437-5520 or visit the Parallel Lives web site at http://www.writersreaders.org/. 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 Friday, April 5th, 2002.