Dr. Wendy Rountree Speaks in Writers-on-the-Shore

SALISBURY, MD---Dr. Wendy Rountree, assistant professor of English at Salisbury University, is the next guest in SU’s Writers-on-the-Shore series. She reads passages from her book Lost Soul 8 p.m. Thursday, December 4, in the Wicomico Room at the Guerrieri University Center.

Lost Soul focuses on Elisa Mathers, a middle-class, African-American teen-ager who dreams of college and escaping small-town life while concentrating on avoiding school bullies and surviving high school.

Because she is labeled an “Oreo” at school, Mathers has few friends, and she is often a target of the school’s clique. She feels the sting of betrayal when her ex-best friend joins the clique.

When another middle-class, African-American teen-ager moves to town, Mathers believes she has found a true friend, but that relationship complicates her friendship with a working-class African-American. Soon, Mathers has to confront herself and answer the hard question: “Am I a wannabe?” Black Issues Book Review mentioned Lost Soul in its November/December 2003 issue.

Sponsored by the English Department, Rountree’s reading is free and the public is cordially invited.

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.