Luis Alberto Urrea, the critically acclaimed and best-selling author of 13 books, will speak at the Multicultural Student Services Spring Community Dialogue on Tuesday, Feb. 22. The lecture and book signing will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the O’Shaughnessy Educational Center auditorium.
Luis Alberto Urrea
Urrea has been inducted into the Latino Literature Hall of Fame and has received widespread critical acclaim. He has won numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays. The Devil’s Highway: A True Story is one of his best-known works. He tells the tale of 26 men who in May 2001 attempted to cross the Mexican border into the desert of southern Arizona through the deadly region known as the Devil’s Highway. Only 12 made it out alive.
The Devil’s Highway won the Lannan Literary Award and was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize and the Pacific Rim Kiriyama Prize. It was selected as one of the “best books of the year” by the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Chicago Tribune. It also was the featured reading for the MSS Book Club in January.
Urrea will discuss The Devil’s Highway, his experiences as a bicultural Mexican American and current United States immigration policy. The lecture is free and open to the public. Copies of book will be available for purchase before and after the lecture.
This event is sponsored by Multicultural Student Services with support from University Lectures, American Culture and Difference, Faculty Development and the English Department.
