Clark University Welcomes Author Elizabeth Greenwood

From Clark University: Is it possible to fake your own death in the 21st century? Worcester native and author Elizabeth Greenwood will present “Light in the Dark,” a talk on writing and humor, based on her first nonfiction book, “Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud” at Clark University at 7 p.m., Thursday, February 23, in the Higgins Lounge, Dana Commons, 2nd Floor. The event is part of the Higgins School of Humanities’ spring dialogue symposium, “What’s so funny?”which includes lectures, community conversations and exhibits on humor.

While staring down a six-figure student loan debt, Greenwood considered faking her own death. Her book “Playing Dead: A Journey Through The World of Death Fraud” includes stories of men and women who were desperate enough to lose their identities—and their families—to begin again. Greenwood will lead a discussion on the role of humor in illuminating and exploring our darkest impulses.

Greenwood teaches creative nonfiction at Columbia University. Her book “Playing Dead” has been reviewed by the New York Times, Slate, and Bloomberg Businessweek. Her essays, profiles, and criticism have appeared in Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, Poets & Writers, Al Jazeera America,and Dissent.

Erik Larson, New York Times bestselling author of “Dead Wake,” says the book is “a delightful read for anyone tantalized by the prospect of disappearing without a trace.”

Greenwood grew up in Worcester and graduated from Doherty High School. She holds a B.A. in history from the University of San Francisco and an MFA in literary nonfiction from Columbia University.

Copies of Greenwood’s book will be available for purchase at the event. A book signing will follow. This free, public event is sponsored by the Higgins School of Humanities and the Writing Center. For more information, call 508-793-7479 or email HigginsSchool@clarku.edu. A complete list of events in the spring symposium is available here.

Founded in 1887 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Clark University is a liberal arts-based research university addressing social and human imperatives on a global scale. Nationally renowned as a college that changes lives, Clark is emerging as a transformative force in higher education today. LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) is Clark’s pioneering model of education that combines a robust liberal arts curriculum with life-changing world and workplace experiences. Clark’s faculty and students work across boundaries to develop solutions to complex challenges in the natural sciences, psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. The Clark educational experience embodies the University’s motto: Challenge convention. Change our world.

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