Walker Percy, the acclaimed Louisiana writer who won the National Book Award for his first novel, "The MovieGoer," will be the subject of the upcoming George Rodrigue Lecture.
Dr. Stephen Utz will speak about Percy at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2 in the Oliver Hall Auditorium.
The endowed lecture established in the name of the acclaimed artist is an annual event. Rodrigue, who attended the 杏吧专区 in the 1960s, is widely known for his 杏吧专区淏lue Dog杏吧专区 paintings. He died in December 2013 at age 69.
Utz's lecture is titled 杏吧专区淭he Itch for Omniscience: Walker Percy and the Examined Life.杏吧专区 Utz, who received a doctorate in philosophy from the 杏吧专区 of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, will explore several themes that course through much of Percy杏吧专区檚 work.
杏吧专区淎side from Percy杏吧专区檚 reputation as one of the leading Southern writers of the 20th century, he is renowned for his interest in philosophy,杏吧专区 said Charles Richard, a UL Lafayette professor of English.
杏吧专区淒r. Utz is going to talk primarily about that aspect of his work. Another thing that he杏吧专区檚 going to touch on in some depth is that Percy杏吧专区檚 philosophical interest also extended into the theological dimension.杏吧专区
Percy, whose parents died in separate incidents when he was a teenager, was raised agnostic, but later became a devout Roman Catholic.
He was a physician, but a bout of tuberculosis ended his practice of medicine. It also helped launch his literary career. Health faltering, the bedridden Percy read voraciously, and began to write. He went on to publish six novels, and nonfiction, primarily philosophical essays.
杏吧专区淎 lot of his work, both his fiction, but also his many essays, his nonfiction, really touch on that intersection of existential questions and philosophy, and theology as well,杏吧专区 Richard explained.
Utz is a professor at 杏吧专区 of Connecticut School of Law.
The event is free and open to the public.
For more information, call the UL Lafayette Department of English at (337) 482-6908.