Dan Wakefield offering workshops and readings in Richmond

The Division of Humanities and Fine Arts at Indiana University East and Earlham School of Religion is pleased to announce that writer Dan Wakefield, an Indiana native, will be in Richmond on Thursday, March 29th and Friday, March 30th He will offer a series of writing workshops, and give a reading from his work. Friday, March 30th, from 1:30 to 4:00 in Whitewater 132 on the I.U. East campus, Wakefield will screen New York in the Fifties, a film based on his memoir of the same name, and lead a question and answer period following the film. Friday, March 30th at 7 p.m. in Vivian Auditorium on the I.U. East campus, Wakefield will read from his book Returning: A Spiritual Journey. All events are free and open to the public.

“We are thrilled to have Dan Wakefield come to the I. U. East campus,” said T. J. Rivard, Chair of the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts at I.U. East. “His visit here will give students the opportunity to work with a highly respected and well-established writer, and to learn from his experiences in writing, publishing, and editing. We are also looking forward to his reading – Wakefield is a very engaging reader and never fails to connect with his audience.”

Wakefield’s visit to the I. U. East campus is supported in part by funds from an Addison Locke Roache grant and as part of the campus’s Mindful Explorations series. The Mindful Explorations series offers a series of public events including films, guest speakers, and visiting artists. I. U. East has partnered with the Ministry in Writing program at the Earlham School of Religion to make Wakefield’s visit possible.

“Mindful Explorations provides students and the public with a wide range of cultural activities, all on the I. U. East campus,” said Mary Blakefield, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at I.U. East. “It’s great that Dan Wakefield, an Indiana native, can come to campus and share his insights and experiences on writing.”

“Wakefield’s memoir and novels are not only gripping stories but capture the spiritual suffering of much of contemporary America,” said Susan Yanos, Director of the Mullen Ministry of Writing Program at ESR. “He is a powerful writer who knows the power of writing to change the effect of the past upon us, to build community, and to allow us to see our lives holistically. We are excited to have him in Richmond.”

Wakefield is a novelist, journalist, and screenwriter whose best-selling novels “Going All the Way” and “Starting Over” were produced as feature films; he also created the NBC prime time TV series, “James at 15.” A documentary film has also been produced based on his memoir New York in the Fifties. Wakefield’s nonfiction books on spirituality include, Returning: A Spiritual Journey, Creating from the Spirit, The Story of Your Life: Writing a Spiritual Autobiography, Expect a Miracle, and How Do We Know When It’s God?: A Spiritual Memoir.

Wakefield has been the recipient of a Neiman Fellowship in Journalism, the Bernard DeVoto Fellowship to the Breadloaf Conference, a Rockefeller Grant for Creative Writing, and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has taught in the writing programs at Boston University, the University of Massachusetts at Boston, Emerson College, The Iowa Writers Workshop, and is presently Writer in Residence at Florida International University in Miami.

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Wakefield began his writing career as a columnist of his high school newspaper, the Shortridge Daily Echo, also serving as sports correspondent for the Indianapolis Star. After graduating from Columbia College in New York City in 1955, he wrote for many national magazines, including the New York Times Magazine, Harpers, and The Atlantic Monthly. He has been a staff writer for the Nation Magazine, a Contributing Editor of The Atlantic Monthly, a Contributing Writer for GQ, a Contributing Editor of The Yoga Journal, and is on the advisory board of Image: A Journal of The Arts and Religion.

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For further information, contact: Jean Harper 765-973-8571 or Susan Yanos at 765-983-1420.