University of Pittsburgh
January 17, 2005

Premier African American Travel Writer to Speak at Pitt Feb. 2

The event is part of the Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series
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PITTSBURGH—Essayist Eddy L. Harris, a memoirist and travel writer, will give an evening reading at the University of Pittsburgh's Oakland campus at 8:30 p.m. Feb. 2 in Room 125, Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Schenley Drive. This event, part of the Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series, is free and open to the public.

Harris' writings have appeared in several periodicals, including the Independent (London) and Outside, Travel and Leisure. Harris authored four renowned books, Mississippi Solo: A River Quest (Owl Books, 1998), Native Stranger: A Black American's Journey into the Heart of Africa (Simon and Schuster, 1992), South of Haunted Dreams: A Ride Through Slavery's Back Yard (Touchstone, 1994), and Still Life in Harlem (Henry Holt and Company, 1999). He also contributed to Roots in Wales, a documentary by Alfresco Productions/BBC Wales, as a writer, producer, and presenter.

Harris received the Bachelor of Arts degree in communication from Stanford University and was a writer-in-residence for four years at Washington University. He is currently a core faculty member of Goucher College's Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction program.

The Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series runs through April 7 and is cosponsored by the Wyndham Garden Hotel-University Place, Pitt's Center for Latin American Studies, University Center for International Studies, The Book Center, and the University of Pittsburgh Press.

For more information, visit www.english.pitt.edu/events/pcws_schedule.html.

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