December 17, 2004

Titles Announced For Boise State's Spring 2005 Literature for Lunch Series

Jane Fletcher Geniesse’s Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark kicks off the spring 2005 series of Literature for Lunch. Literature for Lunch is a monthly book discussion group supported by Boise State University’s Department of English. The public is invited to attend the book discussions, held from 12:10-1 p.m. at the Boise Public Library, 715 S. Capitol Blvd. The discussions are free and no reservations are required. This fall’s selections include: Wednesday, Jan. 26: Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark, by Jane Fletcher Geniesse. Stark considered herself a successor to Gertrude Bell (whose biography the group read in spring 2004) as a British traveler in the Middle East, but she was much less inclined than Bell to work within the system. A fascinating biography of a daring, independent-minded travel writer. Wednesday, March 2: Baghdad Sketches, by Freya Stark. Stark was a prolific and extremely popular travel writer. One of her many travel books, this series of essays offers a view of Iraq outside the British compound. Wednesday, March 30: Brick Lane, by Monica Ali. This story of a young woman from Bangladesh whose arranged marriage brings her to a housing block in East London was short-listed for the Mann Booker Prize in 2003. Wednesday, April 27: Distant View of a Minaret, by Alifa Rifaat. An Egyptian writer examines the place of women in a male-dominated society through the stories of mothers, wives and sisters in 20th-century Egypt. 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. 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 Jan Widmayer at 426-1233 (jwidmayer@boisesetate.edu)  or professor Carol Martin at 426-1179 (cmartin@boisestate.edu).   Contact: Carol Martin, English, (208) 426-1179, cmartin@boisestate.edu  or Jan Widmayer, English, (208) 426-1233, jwidmayer@boisestate.edu Media Contact: Kathleen Craven, University Relations, (208) 426-3275, kraven@boisestate.edu