Novelist A.J. Verdelle to Read at Center for Access and Transition on Oct. 31

As part of its Authors Series, the Center for Access and Transition is hosting African American novelist A.J. Verdelle on Wednesday, Oct. 31.

Verdelle will be reading at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Jeannette C. Taylor Multipurpose room, 2203/2133 French Hall West. She will also sign her books on both occasions.

Verdelle burst upon the literary scene in 1995 with "The Good Negress," a coming-of-age story that became one of the most acclaimed novels of the 1990s. Verdelle drew heavily upon her own life experiences in the book. Written mostly in southern African American dialect, "The Good Negress" brings to life the linguistic divide in the African American community between speakers of different forms of the English language, and contains powerful reflections on the conflicts that education might set in motion in the life of a brilliant, but uneducated young African American woman."

"The Good Negress" won five national prizes — including from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. The novel has been used as a text in colleges and universities nationally, and is currently in its 15th paperback printing

Verdelle is currently finishing a long novel about freedom and black cowboys.

This event is sponsored by Student Affairs and Leadership Development (SALD), the Center for Access and Transition, and the University of Cincinnati Bookstore.