Author Chris Abani wraps up fall Contemporary Issues Lecture Series

November 20, 2009

An award-winning author imprisoned for his writings and exiled from his country will speak at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to wrap up the fall edition of the Contemporary Issues Lecture Series.

Chris Abani, author and professor at the University of California at Riverside, will speak at 7 p.m., Monday, Nov. 30, in the Young Auditorium about his experiences growing up in Nigeria during political unrest. As a young author, Abani was jailed for six months after publishing his first book and was imprisoned twice more for his writing after that.

Abani's lecture, "Inspirations for 'Song For Night' and Other Writings," will focus on past life events that inspired him to write his novella, "Song For Night." The book, a 2007 New York Times Editors Choice selection, is part of UW-Whitewater's Campus/Community Reading Initiative, which has professors use the novel in their classes. This year, 14 faculty members assigned "Song For Night" as reading in their classes.

Susan Johnson, associate professor of political science and lecture series coordinator, feels that Abani's life and works make him a perfect fit for the initiative.

"He's an award-winner with broad appeal," she said. "He's a prominent writer whose writing is also very accessible."

"Song For Night" tells the story of a young boy who is forced to be a soldier in a war-torn west African nation. The child soldier narrator, My Luck, is abandoned by his fellow soldiers after they believe he is dead. The book follows My Luck as he is faced with mental and physical obstacles on his journey to find his fellow soldiers.

Johnson said she hopes that people will read Abani's book and recognize the struggles child soldiers endure.

"I hope that people will become more aware of this issue, but that they will also read this book for its literary value," she said.