Roy Blount Jr., acclaimed author, humorist and Vanderbilt alumnus (B.A. 1963) will present this year’s Harry C. Howard Jr. lecture at 4:10 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 30, in Flynn Auditorium at Vanderbilt University Law School.
A book signing and reception will follow Blount’s lecture. The lecture, sponsored by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, is free and open to the public.
Blount’s speech is entitled, “Through Is Thoroughly Throughsome, Go Is Wide Open, and Wince Makes You Wince: On the Non-Arbitrariness of Words.” It is related to his forthcoming book, Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists and Spirits of Letters, Words and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips and Secret Parts; With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory, published this fall by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Blount is the author of 20 books that cover wide-ranging topics including rambles in New Orleans, the thoughts of barnyard animals and hanging out with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His career is as diverse as his subjects: He is a contributing editor to The Atlantic Monthly; a regular guest on NPR’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me;” a columnist for Oxford American; the president of the Authors Guild; a member of PEN and the Fellowship of Southern Authors; a New York Public Library Literary Lion; a Boston Public Library Literary Light; a usage consultant to the American Heritage Dictionary; and an original member of the author-composed rock ‘n’ roll band The Rock Bottom Remainders.
The Harry C. Howard Jr. Lecture Series was established in 1994 through the endowment of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Nash Jr. and Mr. and Mrs. George D. Renfro, all of Asheville, N. C. The lecture honors Harry C. Howard Jr. (B.A. 1951) and allows the Warren Center to bring an outstanding scholar to Vanderbilt annually to deliver a lecture on a significant topic in the humanities. For more information about the lecture, visit http://www.vanderbilt.edu/rpw_center/harry.htm.
The Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities promotes interdisciplinary research and study in the humanities, social sciences, and, when appropriate, natural sciences. Members of the Vanderbilt community representing a wide variety of specializations take part in the Warren Center’s programs. The work of the Warren Center strengthens the place of the humanities not only at Vanderbilt University but also within the larger society in which we live. For more information about the Warren Center, visit http://www.vanderbilt.edu/rpw_center/center.htm.
For more news and information about Vanderbilt University, visit www.vanderbilt.edu/news.
Media Contact: Missy Pankake, (615) 322-NEWS
missy.pankake@vanderbilt.edu