“Deeply crafty, shape-shifting. . . . [Treuer] seems to want to do for Native American culture and literature what James Joyce did for the Irish: haul it into the mainstream of Western culture through sheer nerve and verve.” — Washington Post
Former Mary Routt Chair and current USC faculty, David Treuer returns to Scripps to share his latest novel. Centering on an illicit love affair and the shattering consequences that will reverberate for years to come, Prudence pushes the boundaries of identity, confronting issues of race, gender, and sexual orientation. Treuer and Scripps Writing Program Director, Kimberly Drake, will discuss his book and creative writing practice.
Treuer is Ojibwe from the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota. He grew up on Leech Lake and left to attend Princeton University, where he worked with Paul Muldoon, Joanna Scott, and Toni Morrison. He published his first novel, Little, when he was 24. Treuer is the recipient of the Pushcart Prize, and his work has been named an editor’s pick by the Washington Post, Time Out, and City Pages. His essays and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, Slate.com, and the Washington Post. He has a PhD in anthropology and teaches literature and creative writing at The University of Southern California. He divides his time between Los Angeles and The Leech Lake Reservation.
A book signing will follow.