Fiction Writer Colum McCann to Read at the U of A

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Award winning fiction writer Colum McCann will read from his work at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2, in Kimpel Hall room 102.

McCann's new book, "Dancer" (January 2003), is a biographical novel about ballet celebrity Rudolf Nureyev. "Dancer" begins with Nureyev's bleak impoverished boyhood in the Soviet village of Ufa, and follows his meteoric rise in the world of ballet from his acceptance into Leningrad's prestigious Ballet School in 1955 to his conquest of audiences in both Europe and America. In the 1970s and 80s, Nureyev embraced the drug abuse and sexual promiscuity of New York's gay celebrity subculture, and eventually died of AIDS in 1993. The novel features a kaleidoscopic cast of characters based on historical personalities, from Russian peasants to Soviet-era ballet teachers to ballet legend Margot Fonteyn and pop star John Lennon.

McCann is the author of two short story collections, including "Fishing the Sloe-Black River" and "Everything in this Country Must," as well as two previous novels, "Songdogs" and "This Side of Brightness," which was named a New York Times Notable Book, a Los Angeles Times Best Book, and a Boston Globe Best Novel. He has received a Pushcart Prize, the Rooney Prize, the Hennessy Award, and been an IMPAC finalist. In 2002, he was named the first winner of the Princess Grace Memorial Literary Award.

Colum McCann has been a contributer to The New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, and GQ. He is also a journalist who has written for various newspapers, including the "Herald," "Evening Press," and "Connaught Telegraph" in Ireland, and for United Press International in New York City. McCann adapted his short story "Fishing the Sloe-Black River" as a short film (1996). He is working currently on two film projects, an adaptation of "Songdogs," and "Manlove," a film based on his original screenplay.

In addition to his reading, McCann will meet individually with current students studying fiction writing at the University. Generously funded by the Walton Foundation, McCann's reading is free and open to the public. There will be parking available behind Kimpel Hall.