Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The author of four bestselling books and a frequent public radio contributor will read from her latest work, "The Wordy Shipmates," in a free Feb. 25 program at Mississippi State.
Sarah Vowell's presentation begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Taylor Auditorium of McCool Hall. Her university visit is the fifth in the Shackouls Honors College's Lamar and Tracy Conerly Endowed Lecture Series.
Vowell, an Oklahoma native reared in Montana, has written "Assassination Vacation" (2005), "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" (2002), "Take the Cannoli" (2000), and "Radio On" (1997). Published last year, the fifth work from which she reads during the MSU appearance is a history of American Puritans.
In addition to regular bits on National Public Radio's "This American Life" program, the New York City resident has gained fame for documentaries and monologues about topics as diverse as the Cherokee Trail of Tears, presidential libraries and Frank Sinatra.
Vowell's hip, irreverent style has made her a regular guest on the "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" television show. She also is a frequent visitor to "The Late Show with David Letterman," "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report."
In a Boston Globe review of her works, Vowell is described as a storyteller whose "gift is one of cosmic inclusion--allowing the natural collision of intellect and personality, rigorous research and generational quirks."
The Taylor Auditorium is located in the Seal Family Business Complex of McCool Hall, home of MSU's College of Business.
For more information on Vowell's MSU appearance, contact honors college associate director Kevin Knudson at 662-325-2522 and knudson@honors.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.