December 16, 2003

Titles Announced For Spring 2003 Literature For Lunch Series

Janet Wallach’s Desert Queen kicks off the spring 2004 season of Literature for Lunch, a monthly book discussion group supported by the English department at Boise State University. The public is invited to attend the book discussions, held from 12:10-1 p.m. at the Women’s and Children’s Alliance, 720 West Washington St. The discussions are free and no reservations are required. This spring’s selections include: Friday, Jan. 30: Desert Queen by Janet Wallach. The life of Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), a British traveler who, with T.E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”), played an important role in British imperial expansion in the Middle East and in the creation of modern Iraq. Friday, Mar. 5: A Peace to End All Peace by David Fromkin. A New York Times bestseller, this historical account of the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the role of European powers in shaping the modern Middle East is fascinating in itself and also provides historical background for other readings on this list. Friday, April 2: Cities of Salt by Abdelrahman Munif. Oil economist turned novelist, Jordanian-born Munif was educated in Baghdad, Cairo and Belgrade. Cities of Salt depicts cultural, commercial and political tensions in an unnamed oil-rich Persian Gulf country in the 1930s. Friday, April 30: When I Lived in Modern Times by Linda Grant. Grant’s heroine is a 20-year-old Jewish woman from London who emigrates to Israel after World War II. The book won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2000. Books in the series are available at the Boise State Bookstore for a 25 percent discount; parking validation with your purchase can be used at the visitor’s lot behind the Student Union Building. Books are also available at the Vista Book Gallery, 890 S. Vista Ave. in the Vista Village shopping center, for a 20 percent discount. For more information, contact Boise State English professor Carol Martin at 426-1179 or e-mail her at cmartin@boisestate.edu, or contact Boise State English professor Jan Widmayer at 426-1233 or e-mail her at jwidmayer@boisestate.edu.   -30- Contacts Carol Martin Jan Widmayer English English 208 426-1179 208 426-1233 cmartin@boisestate.edu jwidmayer@boisestate.edu Media Contact Kathleen Craven communications and marketing 208 426-3275