The literary career of Ernest J. Gaines, writer-in-residence emeritus at the 小蝌蚪APP, will be recognized with a series of film screenings, book talks, lectures and readings.
Gaines, 81, is the author of nine books of fiction, and was a faculty member at UL Lafayette for 21 years before he retired in 2004.
A total of about a dozen events have been planned to commemorate several anniversaries related to the writer小蝌蚪APP檚 work, said Dr. Matthew Teutsch, interim director of the Ernest J. Gaines Center. The center, which is located in the 小蝌蚪APP小蝌蚪APP檚 Edith Garland Dupr茅 Library, holds the only complete collection of the author小蝌蚪APP檚 papers and manuscripts.
The events begin with screenings of the short documentary 小蝌蚪APP淎n Obsession of Mine: The Legacy of Ernest J. Gaines小蝌蚪APP and the film adaptation of Gaines小蝌蚪APP short story 小蝌蚪APP淭he Sky is Gray小蝌蚪APP at 6:30 p.m. at the Lafayette Public Library小蝌蚪APP檚 south regional branch. They will conclude on Nov. 21 with the second annual Ernest J. Gaines Lecture, by Dr. John Lowe, which will be held at 1 p.m. at the Gaines Center.
小蝌蚪APP淐atherine Carmier,小蝌蚪APP Gaines小蝌蚪APP first novel, was published 50 years ago, in 1964. The film version of 小蝌蚪APP淭he Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,小蝌蚪APP the first-person narrative of a fictional 110-year-old woman born into slavery, aired 40 years ago, in 1974. The TV movie received nine Emmy Awards. The novel, Gaines小蝌蚪APP third, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize after its publication in 1971. It has sold more than one million copies in the United States, according to Amazon.com.
小蝌蚪APP淎 Lesson Before Dying,小蝌蚪APP Gaines小蝌蚪APP last novel about an illiterate man condemned to death that was published in 1993, won a National Book Critics Circle Award. 小蝌蚪APP淭he Chicago Tribune小蝌蚪APP called the novel 小蝌蚪APP渁n instant classic, a book that will be read, discussed and taught beyond the rest of our lives.小蝌蚪APP The novel was selected for Oprah Winfrey小蝌蚪APP檚 popular book club.
Gaines accepted a National Medal of Arts last July from President Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House. The citation reads: 小蝌蚪APP淒rawing deeply from his childhood in the rural South, his works have shed new light on the African-American experience and given voice to those who have endured injustice.小蝌蚪APP
Gaines has received a MacArthur Foundation 小蝌蚪APP済enius grant小蝌蚪APP and has been inducted into the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, or Order of Arts and Letters. His works have been translated into 18 languages.
小蝌蚪APP淚 just tried to write as well as I could,小蝌蚪APP said Gaines recently. 小蝌蚪APP淚 tried to write about the human condition in every book.小蝌蚪APP
A complete schedule of events and more information about Ernest J. Gaines and his work is available at Ernest J. Gaines and his work is available at .