GRANVILLE -- The Denison University Beck Lecture Series welcomes writer William Henry "Hank" Lewis, whose first book, "In the Arms of Our Elders," was published by Carolina Wren Press in 1995. Lewis will speak at 8 p.m. on Thursday (Sept. 23) in the Board Room of Barney-Davis Hall (200 West Loop on the Denison campus). The lecture is free and open to the public. Lewis, who taught at Denison in the early '90s, will also have the opportunity to visit a class during his time in Granville. While at Denison he helped to design the Reynolds Young Writers Workshop and served as its first director.

Lewis has taught at several other universities including the University of Virginia and Trinity College. Most recently he taught at the College of the Bahamas and is now a visiting professor at Centre College (Danville, Ky.). Beyond his academic career, Lewis has worked as a construction laborer, journeyman dishwasher, museum security guard, and coach for the Bahamas National Soccer Program.

He received the Balch Prize for Best Short Story each year during his graduate studies at the University of Virginia. He was also honored with a grant from the Virginia Commission of the Arts, a Fellowship of Southern Writers' Special Award for Fiction, and a Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation Prize for Short Fiction.

Lewis continues to write works of both fiction and non-fiction, and also has contributed to several poetry anthologies. His work has appeared in various publications including the Washington Post Book World, Plougshares and the African American Review. Lewis also has served on the board of the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation. His second book of stories will be published by Amistad/Harper Collins this coming winter.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575