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Contact: Andrea Nash National Book Award-Winning Author to Speak at Cal Poly Feb. 14. SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Maxine Hong Kingston, widely regarded as one of the major authors of contemporary American literature, will be at Cal Poly to discuss her new book, "Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace," from 8 to10 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14. The free public event will be in Philips Hall in the Performing Arts Center on campus. For more than 12 years, Kingston has led writing and meditation workshops for veterans and their families. The book's contributors include combat veterans, medics and others who served in war; gang members, drug users and victims of domestic violence; and draft resisters, deserters and peace activists. Two veterans who contributed to the book, Bob Golling and Elijah Imlay, and Cuesta College English professor Tom Patchell will also speak at the Feb. 14 event. This community of writers is working together to heal the trauma of war through art, said Kingston. “Reading their words, we witness worlds torn apart then rebuilt. This timely work is the distilled wisdom of warriors and their loved ones, expressing themselves with breathtaking artistry and truth.” Published in October 2006 by Koa Books, “Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace,” has been hailed as a “harvest of creative, redemptive storytelling -- nonfiction, fiction, and poetry.” Kingston is a retired senior lecturer for creative writing at UC Berkeley. She has earned numerous awards for her memoirs and fiction, including “The Woman Warrior,” “China Men,” “Tripmaster Monkey,” and “Hawai'i One Summer.” She is a recipient of the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the PEN West Award for Fiction, and an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature. In 1997, President Bill Clinton presented her with a National Humanities Medal from the National Endowment for the Humanities. She has also earned the title of “Living Treasure of Hawai'i.” Kingston's presentation is sponsored by the Cal Poly Women's Studies Program and Cuesta College. For more information, please the Cal Poly Women's Studies Program office at 756-1525 or womst@calpoly.edu.
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