CONWAY, Ark. (November 5, 2010) — Declared by Time Magazine to be “a certified wunderkind,” Jonathan Safran Foer burst onto the literary scene with the publication of a bestselling novel at the age of 25 and continues to be one of the most talked-about American authors in recent years.
Foer, “a new kind of literary warrior” according to the Village Voice, will give a lecture entitled “Why Jews Laugh At Things That Aren’t Funny,” part of the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language series exploring the theme “Comedy” and co-sponsored by the Crain-Maling Center of Jewish Culture.
The talk will take place on Thursday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in Staples Auditorium on the Hendrix College campus. A book signing and reception will follow in the Mills Center. The event is free and open to the public.
Foer published his bestselling debut novel, Everything Is Illuminated, in 2002. Called a “dazzling literary high-wire act” by the New York Times and “the first great American Jewish novel of the twenty-first century” by The Forward, Everything Is Illuminated garnered numerous awards, including the National Jewish Book Award and the Guardian First Book Prize. It was adapted into a hit movie starring Elijah Wood in 2005.
Foer’s second novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, was hailed by Salman Rushdie as an “exceptional achievement” and received the "Literature for Life Award," the Victoria and Albert Museum Award, and the Prix des libraries du Quebec. Foer’s most recent book, Eating Animals, is a work of nonfiction in which he examines our country’s meat industry and his own vegetarianism.
Named one of Rolling Stone’s “People of the Year” and Esquire’s “Best and Brightest,” Foer has had stories published in The New Yorker, The Paris Review and Conjunctions. He is the editor of a bestselling anthology of writing inspired by the bird boxes of artist Joseph Cornell, A Convergence of Birds. His libretto Seven Attempted Escapes from Silence was performed by the Berlin State Opera House in September 2005. He is currently at work on a new edition of the Haggadah – the Jewish religious text that tells the story of the Jews’ liberation from bondage in Egypt and sets out the order of the Passover Seder – that is meant to inspire people toward a greater commitment for social change.
This event is co-sponsored by the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language, which are designed to enhance and enrich the study and teaching of literature and language at Hendrix College, and by the Crain-Maling Center of Jewish Culture, which aims to enhance knowledge about Jewish culture and raise awareness of Jewish life on the Hendrix College campus. For more information about this and future Hendrix-Murphy events, please contact Henryetta Vanaman at (501) 450-4597 or vanaman@hendrix.edu. For more information on the Crain-Maling Center, please contact Marianne Tettlebaum at (501) 450-4598 or tettlebaum@hendrix.edu.
Hendrix, founded in 1876, is a selective, residential, undergraduate liberal arts college emphasizing experiential learning in a demanding yet supportive environment. The college is featured in the 2010 edition of the Princeton Review as one of the country’s best 371 colleges, was identified as the nation’s top “Up and Coming” liberal arts college for 2011 by U.S. News and World Report, and is ranked among 45 “Best Buy” colleges by the 2011 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.