MONROE - Monroe Arts Center will presents the final author in the 2011-2012 Writers Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 17 with a free presentation by noted Wisconsin author Jane Hamilton.
The theme of the presentation is "writers and readers." Hamilton will discuss what makes the ideal reader, some of her encounters with readers and how that affects the writer, along with anecdotes, and a reading of new material relating to the presentation's theme.
A brief reception immediately following the talk will take place in Frehner Gallery. Chuck Wellington, president of the MAC Foundation board of directors, is host of this series.
Hamilton lives, works and writes in an orchard farmhouse in southeastern Wisconsin. She grew up in Oak Park, Ill., the youngest of five children. She graduated from Carleton College in 1979 as an English major. Her first published works were short stories, "My Own Earth" and "Aunt Marj's Happy Ending," both published in Harper's Magazine in 1983. "Aunt Marj's Happy Ending" later appeared in The Best American Short Stories 1984.
Her first novel, "The Book of Ruth," was published in 1988 and won the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, Great Lakes College Association New Writers Award, and the Wisconsin Library Association Banta Book Award in 1989. "The Book of Ruth" was an Oprah's Book Club selection in 1996, and it was the basis for a 2004 television film of the same title.
In 1994, she published her second novel "A Map of the World," which was adapted for a film in 1999 and the same year was also an Oprah's Book Club selection. It has become an international bestseller. Her third novel, "The Short History of a Prince," published in 1998, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 1998. This book was also shortlisted for the 1999 Orange Prize.
All of her books are set, at least in part, in Wisconsin. "A Map of the World" is set in Racine County.
In a 2006 interview with The Journal Times in Racine, Hamilton talked about her early inspiration for writing novels. As a student at Carleton College, she overheard a professor say she would write a novel one day. Hamilton had written only two short stories for the professor's class. Overhearing the conversation gave her confidence.
"It had a lot more potency, the fact that I overheard it, rather than his telling me directly," she said.
In 2000, Hamilton was named a Notable Wisconsin Author by the Wisconsin Library Association.
More information is available by call (608) 325-5700 or (888) 596-1249, or online at www.monroeartscenter.com.
Monroe Arts Center events are underwritten by Corporate Underwriter Colony Brands, Inc., and media underwriters Monroe Publishing, LLC, and Big Radio.
The theme of the presentation is "writers and readers." Hamilton will discuss what makes the ideal reader, some of her encounters with readers and how that affects the writer, along with anecdotes, and a reading of new material relating to the presentation's theme.
A brief reception immediately following the talk will take place in Frehner Gallery. Chuck Wellington, president of the MAC Foundation board of directors, is host of this series.
Hamilton lives, works and writes in an orchard farmhouse in southeastern Wisconsin. She grew up in Oak Park, Ill., the youngest of five children. She graduated from Carleton College in 1979 as an English major. Her first published works were short stories, "My Own Earth" and "Aunt Marj's Happy Ending," both published in Harper's Magazine in 1983. "Aunt Marj's Happy Ending" later appeared in The Best American Short Stories 1984.
Her first novel, "The Book of Ruth," was published in 1988 and won the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, Great Lakes College Association New Writers Award, and the Wisconsin Library Association Banta Book Award in 1989. "The Book of Ruth" was an Oprah's Book Club selection in 1996, and it was the basis for a 2004 television film of the same title.
In 1994, she published her second novel "A Map of the World," which was adapted for a film in 1999 and the same year was also an Oprah's Book Club selection. It has become an international bestseller. Her third novel, "The Short History of a Prince," published in 1998, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 1998. This book was also shortlisted for the 1999 Orange Prize.
All of her books are set, at least in part, in Wisconsin. "A Map of the World" is set in Racine County.
In a 2006 interview with The Journal Times in Racine, Hamilton talked about her early inspiration for writing novels. As a student at Carleton College, she overheard a professor say she would write a novel one day. Hamilton had written only two short stories for the professor's class. Overhearing the conversation gave her confidence.
"It had a lot more potency, the fact that I overheard it, rather than his telling me directly," she said.
In 2000, Hamilton was named a Notable Wisconsin Author by the Wisconsin Library Association.
More information is available by call (608) 325-5700 or (888) 596-1249, or online at www.monroeartscenter.com.
Monroe Arts Center events are underwritten by Corporate Underwriter Colony Brands, Inc., and media underwriters Monroe Publishing, LLC, and Big Radio.