Author and Associate Professor Mark Behr will give a reading from his new novel, Kings of the Water, signaling the return of the College of Santa Fe’s First Print Reading Series. The reading will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. in the O’Shaughnessy Performance Space in Benildus Hall at the College of Santa Fe.
Santa Fe, N.M. (PRWEB) November 25, 2009 -- Author and Associate Professor Mark Behr will give a reading from his new novel, Kings of the Water, signaling the return of the College of Santa Fe’s First Print Reading Series. The reading will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. in the O’Shaughnessy Performance Space in Benildus Hall at the College of Santa Fe.
The First Print Reading Series hosts public readings featuring both emerging and prominent writers. Past series authors include Pulitzer winners Galway Kinnell and Louise Gluck, U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass, Denis Johnson, W.S. Merwin, Edward Albee, Peter Matthiesen, Barry Hannah and Randall Kenan as well as a wide range of writers at the beginning of their careers.
Behr, a Tanzanian-born writer who grew up in South Africa, is an associate professor of world literature and fiction writing at the College of Santa Fe. Behr’s published works include two previous novels, The Smell of Apples and Embrace. His works, which are extensively translated, have received awards from the Los Angeles Times, the British Society of Authors and the South African Academy of Sciences and the Arts.
About the book
Elegiac and chilling, poignant and profoundly thoughtful, Kings of the Water is at once a lament both personal and political, and a meditation on the potency of reconciliation. When Michiel Steyn’s mother unexpectedly dies, he returns from the United States to South Africa for the first time in 15 years. As Steyn submits to the rituals of mourning and remembrance in the small town and on the land where he became a man, all that has lain undisturbed for years is brought to light. A father's implacable fury and a brother's violent death, the loss of a child, the betrayal of love and the ugly memory of the dying days of apartheid all come between the prodigal son and forgiveness. Steyn finds that he must confront not only his grief for his mother's passing but also the painful truth of his own transgressions.
ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF SANTA FE
The College of Santa Fe is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Programs at the 150-year old college combine practical experience with core theory, empowering students to develop a thorough understanding of their professional aspirations in creative writing, theater, art, graphic design, moving image arts (film making), photography, business and education. This approach, a key part of the college’s interdisciplinary curriculum, helps students become well-rounded, creative problem-solving professionals. The location of the college, in the city of Santa Fe, allows students to pursue their education in an environment where art is central to the community. The College of Santa Fe is a member of Laureate International Universities, a world-wide network of online and campus-based institutions that emphasize quality higher education that is innovative, international, and connected to the demands of a global marketplace. For more information about the College of Santa Fe, visit www.csf.edu.
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