PEN/FAULKNER 2008/09 READING SERIES

In the Quagmire: America at War
October 10, 2008

All readings begin at 8pm and are followed by a reception, book sale, and signing. Unless otherwise noted, all readings cost $15 and take place at the Folger Shakespeare Library, located at 201 East Capitol Street, SE, in Washington, DC.

Colby Buzzell is the author of the book My War: Killing Time in Iraq. In 2004, Buzzell was profiled in Esquire magazine's "Best and Brightest" issue and has since contributed frequently. In 2007, Buzzell received the 2007 Lulu Blooker Prize. He lives in San Francisco, California.

Albert French’s memoir Patches of Fire depicts his Vietnam War experiences as a Marine infantry man and was named a New York Times Notable Book in 1997. The author of four novels, French’s most recent, Cinder, was published in the UK in 2007. He resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Anthony Swofford is the author of the novel Exit A and the memoir Jarhead, which won the PEN Art of the Memoir award and was adapted into a Sam Mendes-directed film in 2005. His writing has appeared in Harper’s, Washington Post Book World, Bookforum, and The Telegraph Magazine. He is currently at work on a novel set in New York City, where he lives.

Moderated by Clarence Page

Clarence Page is a nationally-syndicated, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Chicago Tribune and a frequent panel member and essayist for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and The MacLaughlin Group. Winner of the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, Page is an occasional panelist on and has published widely in national magazines and newspapers.

In the novel, the memoir, and the blog, three war veterans of America’s recent international conflicts explore the ways warfare challenges our very assumptions about humanity, identity, interpersonal communication, isolation, and the ability of language to articulate truth amidst chaos.