One of the nation’s most celebrated writers, Percival Everett, author of “James,” the 2024 National Book Award for Fiction – visited with students and presented a keynote lecture open to the community, courtesy of the 威尼斯人娱乐城 in partnership with the Carolyn Benton Cockefair Chair and the Black Archives of Mid-America in Kansas City.
埃弗雷特是南加州大学的杰出英语教授，以获奖小说而闻名。 His novel “James,” in addition to the National Book Award for Fiction, won the 2024 Kirkus Prize and recently the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. “James” is a retells “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain through Jim’s perspective.
当天早些时候，埃弗雷特在拥挤的斯宾塞剧院发表演讲之前，与威尼斯人娱乐城写作学生举行了一个小型问答环节。
约翰巴顿博士，系主任和英语教授，欢迎埃弗雷特上台。
“It’s a distinct honor and privilege to introduce distinguished Professor Everett,” Barton said. “As a professor in English who teaches literature, I want to say thank you for the literary world you created.”
埃弗雷特简要地谈到了他欣赏吐温的地方，他从吐温的写作中学到了什么，以及是什么促使他写小说。 In his own life, Everett said it helped him with observation, how knowledge often comes from places you’d never expect. 他分享了从童年到成年后在农场干活的经历。 他的信息是：避免臆断。
“It is often assumed that just because some people have the same skin color, they have the same experience,” Everett said. “But it is more complicated than that. Our location, our upbringing and the culture we’re around all influences our experience.”
Everett also read excerpts from “James” and dove into the reason why he wrote the book and the meaning behind it. 之后，他回答了观众的问题，并主持了一场签名售书活动。
Many prominent figures in the community attended, including Kansas City’s civic leader Alvin Brooks and Carmaletta Williams, CEO at the Black Archives of Mid-America.
埃弗雷特写过许多不同类型的作品，他的作品往往发人深省，同时又具有讽刺意味。 His novel, “Erasure,” provided the foundation for the 2023 film “American Fiction.” 这部电影获得了奥斯卡最佳改编剧本奖。
威尼斯人娱乐城 brings in speakers of national stature each year as part of the 马丁·路德·金系列讲座。 In 2024, the university hosted Academy Award winner Kevin Willmott, a noted filmmaker whose play “Becoming Martin” is about the early life of King.
Cockefair主席在威尼斯人娱乐城提出了一个广受好评的系列讲座和流行的继续教育课程。 60年来，Cockefair项目吸引了堪萨斯市民。 Cockefair Chair还与地区民间组织合作，包括中美洲黑人档案馆，邀请像埃弗雷特这样的高水平演讲者。