AUTHOR WALTER MOSLEY TO GIVE LECTURE AT HU

Hampton, VA - Author Walter Mosley will give a lecture on his novel "Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned," as part of the Department of English's Annual Read-In. Mosley will speak Thursday, April 18 at 6 p.m. in Ogden Hall.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

"Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned," sets out to explore the implications of morality in a society that has lost respect for its value, and where the lead character, an ex-con, struggles with the question of atonement.

The Annual Read-In is an interdisciplinary event in which the entire campus reads a novel and participates in lectures and other activities relating to the novel's content. This year the campus viewed the HBO movie "Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned."

"It was a departmental decision," said Dr. Margaret Bell, chair of the English Department, to choose the renowned author. "We were seeking a male African-American author and it is hard to find a more popular and versatile writer than Mosley."

The New York Times said that "the14 loosely linked vignettes and tales in 'Always Outnumbered,' incorporates Platonic dialogues as a kind of ghost melody; signature strains of the classic are vamped up in the rough demonic of present-day Watts."

Mosley, a Los Angeles native, has written 12 books, including the popular Easy Rawlins mystery series. "Devil in a Blue Dress," which is also a movie, "A Red Death," "Black Betty," "White Butterfly," and "A Little Yellow Dog" were all critically acclaimed. His novels are published in 18 countries and translated into 21 languages.

He also serves on the board of directors of the National Book Awards, The Poetry Society of America, and is past-president of the Mystery Writers of America.

For additional information, please contact: Kia Dupree (757) 727 - 5255 or via email: kia.dupree@hamptonu.edu