Author Paul Cuadros to speak at university
By From staff reports
Published in News on October 20, 2015 1:46 PM
MOUNT OLIVE -- Award-winning journalist and author Paul Cuadros will be a guest lecturer at the University of Mount Olive on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 4 p.m. in Southern Bank Auditorium in Raper Hall.
The event is free and the public is invited.
After months of meticulously screening more than 40 books, Cuadros' book, "A Home on the Field: How One Championship Soccer Team Inspires Hope for the Revival of Small Town America," was designated as the university's freshmen read by the Common Reading Selection Committee.
The story is set in Siler City where a large number of Latinos had migrated to work in the local chicken processing plants.
As is often the case, the newcomers and the native population of Siler City clashed on multiple levels.
It took a group of young Hispanic boys with a passion for playing soccer to pull the town's factions together.
In the process, the townspeople, the Latino population, and the athletes learned to trust one another and to see life from a different perspective.
It's a heartwarming, important story with many parallels to issues in towns all over North Carolina and the country, university officials said.
During the Oct. 29 event, attendees will have a chance to meet the author and have their copy of the book signed during an autograph session with Cuadros immediately following the lecture.
Audience members will also have the opportunity to ask questions at the event.
This project is made possible in part by funding from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment of the Humanities.
The Humanities Council serves as an advocate for lifelong learning and thoughtful dialogue about all facets of human life.
It facilitates the exploration and celebration of the many voices and stories of North Carolina's cultures and heritage.
The UMO event was awarded the grant based on the involvement of both humanities scholars and a wide, community-based audience.
The grant funded books, the author's meal, and a portion of the scholar's stipend, publicity and printing.
For more information about the Meet the Author event, contact Jackie Hill at jhill@umo.edu.
The University of Mount Olive, sponsored by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists, is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values.
For more information, visit www.umo.edu.