91精选 Welcomes Author Uwem Akpan to Campus
91精选 was pleased to host author Uwem Akpan to campus recently for a reading and question-and-answer session. Akpan, a native of Nigeria, is a Jesuit priest and author of Say You鈥檙e One of Them, an award-winning collection of short stories set in war-torn Africa that are told through the eyes of children.
Professor of English Michael Vander Weele, Ph.D., told the audience that packed Van Namen Recital Hall on Oct. 26 that he connected with Akpan after writing an essay on Akpan鈥檚 work that was published in Religion & Literature last fall. Vander Weele and Akpan began corresponding, which eventually led to Akpan鈥檚 visit to campus. 鈥淯wen has written some really tough stories, with a really big heart,鈥� said Vander Weele. 鈥淗e is a servant of God.鈥�
Akpan read 鈥淲hat Language Is That,鈥� one of the stories featured in Say You鈥檙e One of Them, which tells the story of a young Christian girl and her Muslim best friend whose parents forbid them to speak to each other after riots break out in Ethiopia.
鈥淚 wanted to write about difficult things,鈥� Akpan told the students, faculty, staff, and community members in attendance. 鈥淭hese are stories about children, but they are not children鈥檚 stories.鈥�
Akpan also discussed his faith and religious training, how he came to earn an MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan and the experience of having short stories published in The New Yorker.
