RMU Rooney Scholar to Speak at Penguin Bookshop

Dr. Brenda Flanagan, a novelist, U.S. cultural ambassador and professor of literature at Davidson University in North Carolina will read from her short-story collection at 6 p.m. Friday at Bookshop.

Flanagan will be in town as part of Robert Morris University’s Rooney Scholar Program, whose spring 2011 theme is “Women, Our History is Our Strength.”

Three women scholars were chosen this year to represent distinct cultures. Flanagan’s teaching and writing focuses on African-American and Caribbean culture.

Flanagan’s short-story collection is titled "In Praise of Island Women and Other Crimes."

“The stories in this collection are set in a number of islands, including Hawaii, and  most of them are about women -- their dreams, hope, desires -- and especially how some of them triumph over difficulties,” Flanagan said.

Flanagan’s first and second novels, "You Alone are Dancing" and "Allah in the Island," feature a young woman named Beatrice Salandy, who is raped and must overcome the deleterious effects of that as well as what is happening to her community of Rosehill in the fictional island of Santabella, Flanagan said.

Known worldwide for her dramatic readings of her work, Flanagan is sure to entertain and thoroughly engage her audience.

After the reading, she will answer questions, and her novels will be available for purchase and signing.