Award winning writer Danielle Evans featured in Southeastern's ‘Common Read’ program
Tuesday, March 14, 2017 
by: Rene Abadie
photo credit: Nina Subin
HAMMOND – The author of the popular short story collection “Before You Suffocate Your
Own Fool Self” will visit Southeastern Louisiana University Monday, March 20, as part
of the institution’s Common Read program.
Danielle Evans, who teaches fiction at the University of Wisconsin – Madison,
will meet with students and the public throughout the day.
Sponsored by the Department of English and the Southeastern Writing Center, Common
Read provides students and community members the opportunity to read selected works
and then meet a contemporary author.
Events that day include student presentations on the author’s work at 9:30 a.m.,
an 11 a.m. question and answer session with the author, and a 6:30 p.m. public reading
by Evans followed by a book signing and reception. All events are open to the public
and will be held in the Student Union Theatre.
Evans is known for her stories that reflect the experiences of being in settings
where she was the only African-American, explained David Hanson, head of the Department
of English. The sense of discomfort of not belonging is a common theme in her work,
and her feelings on race are reflected in her stories, he added.
Evans, who previously taught at Missouri State University, received her undergraduate
degree in anthropology from Columbia University in New York and a master of fine arts
degree in fiction from the Iowa Writers Workshop.
“For several years now, we’ve sponsored the Common Read program, featuring a
prominent, contemporary author, and it always serves as an exciting experience for
our students,” said Hanson. “By meeting and talking with an author who they’re studying
in class, students gain a rare opportunity to see deeply into an author’s life of
writing.”
