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Author Eula Biss to be first in new KIE/CDS visiting writers series

Biss EulaThe Kenan Institute for Ethics and the Center for Documentary Studies are excited to announce the establishment of a joint visiting writers series in ethics, society, and documentary art, dedicated to presenting new, unique, and diverse voices in nonfiction literature.

​​The series will begin this fall on November 6 and 7 with National Book Critics Circle Award Winner Eula Biss​.

In ​her book ​On Immunity​: An Inoculation​just published by Graywolf Press, Biss investigates the metaphors and myths surrounding our conception of immunity and its implications for the individual and the social body. As she hears more and more fears about vaccines, Biss researches what they mean for her own child, her immediate community, America, and the world, historically and in the present moment. She extends a conversation with other mothers to meditations on Voltaire’s Candide, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, Susan Sontag’s AIDS and Its Metaphors, and beyond. On Immunity is a moving account of how we are all interconnected—our bodies and our fates.

​Biss’s visit will include a public reading and talk​ on Thursday, November 6, at 7 p.m. in the Nelson Music Room. Other activities include an undergraduate Team Kenan Do Lunch, staff book club visit, and a panel event at the Forum for Scholars and Publics. Stay tuned for more information.

The Visiting Writers Series will continue in the spring with a visit from Leslie Jamison, author of the New York Times bestselling essay collection The Empathy Exams.