Jerzy Kosinski

One of the most popular yet controversial contemporary novelist, Jerzy Kosinski turned his life into fiction and brought his fiction to life. From his early successes (The Painted bird, Steps, Being There), which brought him both critical acclaim and literary celebrity, to the scandals that almost ended his career (and contributed to his suicide in 1991), Kosinski was – and remains – among the most colorful figures in the literary canon.

A prominent scholar of contemporary American literature and culture and former Fulbright Senior Professor of American Literature in martial law-era Poland, Barbara Tepa Lupack is author of numerous studies of Kosinski, including Plays of Passion, Games of Chance: Jerzy Kosinski and His Fiction (Rhodes-Fulbright International Library), Critical Essays on Jerzy Kosinski (G. K. Hall/Simon and Schuster), and a special issue on Kosinski for The Polish Review (forthcoming in Spring, 2004). Some of her other books include Adapting the Arthurian Legends for Children (Palgrave Macmillan, Dec. 2003), Literary Adaptations in Black American Cinema: From Micheaux to Morrison (University of Rochester Press, 2002), Insanity as Redemption in Contemporary American Fiction (University Press of Florida), and – with Alan Lupack – Arthurian Literature by Women (Garland) and King Arthur in America (D. S. Brewer), winner of the Mythopoeic Society Scholarship Award (2001).

The event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided, please RSVP to 275-9898 by Jan. 20.

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