Gordon Partners with Hamilton-Wenham Library to Bring Pulitzer Prize Winner to Campus

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2010

MEDIA CONTACT
Jo Kadlecek
Office of College Communications
978.867.4752
[email protected]

WENHAM, MA—It isn’t often that small towns like Wenham, Massachusetts, end up in the national spotlight. But this year’s winner for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction, Tinkers by Paul Harding, places Wenham as the story’s setting.

As part of their fifth annual Community Read partnership, Gordon College and the Hamilton-Wenham Library will welcome Harding to campus November 16th at 7:30 p.m. in the A. J. Gordon Memorial Chapel (255 Grapevine Road, Exit 17 from 128). Harding will discuss his book and the influence of the New England landscape on literary settings. Harding will also sign books at a reception from 6–7 p.m. in the Ken Olsen Science Center. The event is $5 for the general public and free for the Gordon community.

Tinkers is the story of a dying man’s last days as he looks back on his relationship with his father. The story takes place in “Enon,” a seventeenth century name for the town of Wenham where Harding grew up.

“Paul Harding is a gifted writer and a recognized teacher,” said Mark Sargent, Gordon College’s Provost. “His ability to use language with precision and care is worth celebrating. We’re honored to have him on campus.”

The Hamilton-Wenham Library along with Gordon College sponsors the Community Read program, which encourages all community members to read the same book and then gather together to meet the author. Through the help of a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, the Hamilton-Wenham Public Library reinforces its mission of “meeting the cultural, educational, informational and recreational interests of the community.”

“We are delighted to host a Pulitzer Prize winning author this year,” said Jan Dempsey, Director of the Hamilton-Wenham Library. “And it’s also exciting that his novel is set in our hometown.”

For more information on the Community Read, contact Jan Dempsey 978.468.5577.

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Gordon College is a multidenominational Christian college of the liberal arts and sciences on Boston’s North Shore, offering majors in 36 fields with graduate programs in education and music education. Gordon is nationally recognized for excellence in academics and in character building, and ranks as one of the nation’s top Christian colleges. www.gordon.edu

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