October 20, 1998
Contact:
Contact: Yvonne French (202) 707-9191
Public Contact: Center for the Book (202) 707-5221
Lecture by William Styron and His Biographer James L. West To Be Broadcast Live on the Internet
WHAT: A computerized broadcast, or cybercast
WHO: Author William Styron and his biographer,
James L.W. West III
WHEN: 5:30 p.m. EST Wednesday, November 4
WHERE: www.loc.gov or www.broadcast.com
HOW: The Library and Broadcast.com will broadcast
the live audio of the lecture; a video version
will be made available on the above sites the
next day. The lecture will be accessible to
computer users for two months after the
discussion takes place.
BACKGROUND:
The computerized broadcast is the second in a
cooperative pilot project between the Library and
Broadcast.com. The first was Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky's
October 8 lecture, "Poetry and American Memory." The first
cybercast from the Library of Congress was a flute concert
by Jean-Pierre Rampal last February.
William Styron, one of America's leading novelists, and
James L.W. West III, author of William Styron: A Life
(Random House, 1998), will present a joint program at the
Library on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 5:30 p.m. in the Montpelier
Room on the sixth floor of the Madison Building. It is
sponsored by the Center for the Book as part of its "Books &
Beyond" author series.
Mr. Styron is known primarily for his novels such as
Lie Down in Darkness (1951), The Confessions of Nat Turner
(1967), and Sophie's Choice (1989). Mr. West, who has
studied Mr. Styron's life and career for more than 20 years,
used the Styron papers at the Library and at Duke University
in producing his well-received biography. Mr. West is
Distinguished Professor of English at Pennsylvania State
University and general editor of the Cambridge edition of
the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress was
established in 1977 to stimulate public interest in books,
reading and libraries. For information about the center's
activities and publications, visit its site on the World
Wide Web at: www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook.
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PR 98-172
10/20/98
ISSN 0731-3527