Feb. 20, 2018
The Len Thayer Grant Program Brings Acclaimed Japanese-American Writer Ruth Ozeki to CWU for a Craft Talk and Reading
Ruth Ozeki, whose novel, A Tale for the Time Being (Viking Penguin, 2013), was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and was a New York Times bestseller, will visit Central Washington University as part of the 2018 Lion Rock Visiting Writers series on Monday, February 26.
A Tale for the Time Being is this year's One Book, One County selection. The program encourages Kittitas County residents to read the same book at the same time to create a countywide dialogue and book club.
Ozeki will read from her work from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the CWU SURC Theatre. Earlier in the day, she will give a craft talk from noon to 1:00 p.m. in Black Hall, room 151.
Both events are free and open to the public. Her books will be available for sale courtesy of the CWU Wildcat Shop following the evening event.
Ozeki is a filmmaker, novelist, and Zen Buddhist priest. Her novels My Year of Meats (Viking Penguin, 1998) and All Over Creation (Viking Penguin, 2003) have been published internationally. Her award winning novels have been described as "witty, intelligent and passionate" by The Independent, and as possessing "shrewd and playful humor, luscious sexiness and kinetic pizzazz" by the Chicago Tribune.
Ozeki was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, by an American father and a Japanese mother. She studied English and Asian Studies at Smith College and traveled extensively in Asia. She received a Japanese Ministry of Education Fellowship to do graduate work in classical Japanese literature at Nara University.
The event is sponsored by the CWU Len Thayer Grant Program, CWU Brooks Library, CWU Human Rights and Social Justice Committee, CWU College of Arts and Humanities, CWU Center for Diversity and Social Justice, CWU English Department, CWU Multimodal Center, Ellensburg Public Library, Cle Elum Public Library, Roslyn Public Library, The Wildcat Shop, Ellensburg Morning Rotary Club, and Karen Gookin.
For more information on this Speaker please visit www.prhspeakers.com.
For more information about the Lion Rock series, visit: www.cwu.edu/english/lion-rock-visiting-writers-series or contact Lisa Norris at 509-963-1745, Lisa.Norris@cwu.edu.
Media contact: Richard Moreno, Department of Public Affairs, 509-963-2714, Richard.Moreno@cwu.edu.