NASHVILLE, Tenn. ñ Peter Guralnick, biographer of Elvis Presley and Sam Cooke and a visiting professor at Vanderbilt University, will read from his work this month at Vanderbilt.
Guralnick, the 2005 Gertrude and Harold S. Vanderbilt Visiting Writer at Vanderbilt, will read at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, in Room 103 of Wilson Hall.
The event is free and open to the public.
“Guralnick shows us, in particular with his two-volume biography of Elvis Presley, how popular music justifies a depth of research that is equal to that of our finest presidential historians,” said Cecelia Tichi, William R. Kenan Professor of English at Vanderbilt. “In an age of glitz and disposable celebrity, Guralnick shows us the importance of the authentic popular talent able to change the lives of millions of people in all walks of life.”
Guralnick is teaching creative non-fiction this semester at Vanderbilt. His books include Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley and Searching for Robert Johnson.
Guralnick‘s new book, Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke, is set for release in September.
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
Jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu