Archived Event
Please join the Library Society of UT Knoxville and the Friends of the Knox County Public Library for an evening with author Robert Morgan on Thursday, April 7, at 7 p.m. at the Bijou Theatre. Morgan will present the 2016 Wilma Dykeman Stokely Memorial Lecture.
Morgan is a widely acclaimed novelist, poet, biographer, and playwright. His latest novel, Chasing the North Star, will be published on April 5. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Gap Creek and its sequel The Road From Gap Creek. Dark Energy, his most recent collection of poems, was published in 2015.
Boone, Morgan’s critically acclaimed biography of Daniel Boone, was published in 2007. Lions of the West: Heroes and Villains of the Westward Expansion followed in 2011, and the author appeared on The Artist’s Craft on the Raleigh Television Network to discuss the book.
Local poet, playwright, and editor Linda Parsons Marion says of Morgan that “…(his) passion for chronicling our individual and our country’s history never wanes in his luminous telling, his vast curiosity to explore what lies beneath the surface of our very human lust for life and understanding.”
A native of Hendersonville, North Carolina, Morgan was inducted into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame in 2010. He has taught at Cornell University since 1971, where he is Kappa Alpha Professor of English.
The lecture honors the late Wilma Dykeman Stokely (1920–2006), writer, speaker, teacher, historian, environmentalist and long-time friend of the Knox County Public Library. Her papers are part of the UT Knoxville Library’s Special Collections.
Please visit the Library Society’s website to view a recording of this event.
Local and Regional Media Coverage of Robert Morgan
- The Daily Times
- Tennessee Today: News and Events for the UT Community
- Chapter 16
- Knoxville News Sentinel (article about event)
- Knoxville News Sentinel (review of Chasing the North Star)
Photo Gallery
- Mary Pom Claiborne made sure everyone saw Robert Morgan’s name on the Bijou Theatre’s sign.
- Morgan signed copies of his books and chatted with audience members after he spoke on April 7.
- Morgan remained in Knoxville to participate in a panel discussion on April 8.
Media representatives and bloggers: For more information about this and other Friends-sponsored events, please contact us.
Photo of Robert Morgan © Randi Anglin