A Los Angeles Times writer visits Sept. 29 to share her report on a Honduran boy's struggle to reunite with his mother in North Carolina.
Thursday, September 29
Sonia Nazario, “Enrique’s Journey”
McCrary Theatre, 7:30 p.m.
Sonia Nazario, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author on social issues, will give a lecture in McCrary Theatre on Sept. 29 in which she will discuss her book Enrique’s Journey. Nazario’s visit is hosted by the Liberal Arts Forum and El Centro in support of Hispanic Heritage Month.. Admission is free and no ticket is required.
Nazario has spent 20 years reporting and writing, her most recent work being for the Los Angeles Times. She focuses on social issues, addressing some of the country’s most prominent problems. Her childhood in Kansas and Argentina influenced her to write prolifically about Latin America and Latinos in the United States. She is a Williams College graduate and holds a master’s degree in Latin American studies from University of California, Berkley. She received an honorary doctorate from Mount St. Mary’s College.
Expanded from her journalistic series of the same name, Enrique’s Journey is the story of a young Honduran boy’s struggle to reunite with his mother in North Carolina. Nazario’s in-depth look into the life of an immigrant family aims to help a wider audience recognize who immigrants are, promoting diversity and mutual understanding. The book is a national bestseller, the winner of two awards, and required reading for nearly fifty universities across the United States.
Nazario now serves on the advisory boards of the University of North Texas Mayborn Literary Non-Fiction Writer’s Conference and of Catch the Next, a nonprofit organization aiming to increase the number of Latinos enrolling in college. She is also on the board of Kids In Need of Defense, a nonprofit started by Microsoft and Angelina Jolie to provide attorneys to unaccompanied immigrant children. She is currently working on her second book.
Also while at Elon, Nazario will meet with students in HNR 272: Literary Journalism taught by professors Brooke Barnett and Tom Mould. From their syllabus:
Literary journalism is by nature interdisciplinary. Its literary and journalistic roots are obvious, but no less important are its sociological, anthropological, and historical dimensions. Students in this class interpret non-fiction literature, conduct ethnographic fieldwork, wrangle with discipline-specific ethic by immersing in investigative reporting, analyzing the themes and patterns of daily life, and writing about their work. They will read the work of professionals who started the movement and current writers who continue to challenge the boundaries of this dynamic field.
The class meets in Mooney 302 at 12:25 on Thursday. She will spend about 30 minutes talking about ethics and non-fiction writing and then take questions from students.