The award-winning novels of distinguished American author E. L. Doctorow are set amidst crucial moments in American social history, his characters a rich tapestry of personalities both real and imagined who bring color and authenticity to the eras they inhabit. In his most famous work, 1975’s Ragtime, he interweaves the fates of three fictional families from different cultural backgrounds in 1902 New York with those of actual people – magician Harry Houdini, famous beauty Evelyn Nesbit, political activist Emma Goldman and several others. His most recent historical foray, 2005’s The March, travels further back in time to the final months of the Civil War, when Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman led 60,000 troops through the South on a 60-mile earth-scorching “March to the Sea.” The multi-character narrative is told through the eyes of the individuals whose lives are caught up in the wake of the war. USF welcomes Doctorow for an evening of intimate conversation about his works and experiences. An Evening with E. L. Doctorow, Thurs., Nov. 13, 7 p.m., Marshall Student Center Auditorium at USF, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, free admission, 813-974-5390.
This article appears in Nov 12-18, 2008.