Author and Humorist Sarah Vowell to Visit Stonehill Oct. 27

EASTON, MA (10/14/2009)(readMedia)-- Best-selling author and humorist Sarah Vowell will deliver the ninth annual Chet Raymo Literary Series address on Tuesday, October 27 at 7 p.m. in the Martin Institute at Stonehill College.

Vowell's visit coincides with the paperback release of her fifth book, The Wordy Shipmates, a witty exploration of the American Puritans.

Touted as a "Madonna of Americana" by the Los Angeles Times, Vowell is a regular contributor to the radio program This American Life on Public Radio International. She is also known for her role as the voice of Violet in Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles.

She has made several notable television appearances throughout her career, including multiple turns on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Daily Show. She has also twice served as a guest op-ed columnist for the opinion page of The New York Times. She is a former music columnist for Salon and San Francisco Weekly. Her criticism, interviews and essays have also appeared in TIME, Esquire, GQ, Spin, The Los Angeles Times and the New York Times.

Vowell published her first book entitled Radio On: A Listener's Diary in 1997, one year after receiving her master's degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The diary captures Vowell's thoughts on American radio over the course of a one-year period.

Her follow-up books, Take the Cannoli and The Partly Cloudy Patriot, are humorous compilations of personal stories collected from her travels across the country.

In Assassination Vacation, Vowell explores the mysteries of American history and culture in her unique mix of humor, honesty and thought-provoking criticism.

Vowell was inspired to write her latest book, The Wordy Shipmates, in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks and Ronald Reagan's funeral. "I had been looking for a way to write about the John Winthrop era. I started thinking about him more after 9/11 but really got cracking on the book after Ronald Reagan's funeral in 2004...when Sandra Day O'Connor read from Winthrop's sermon at the funeral," noted Vowell in an interview with the Chicagoist.

About the Chet Raymo Literary Series:

Established in 2001 to honor on of Stonehill's most celebrated professors and his contributions to fiction and non-fiction, the Chet Raymo Literary Series is an annual event that brings significant writers of poetry, fiction or non-fiction to Stonehill's campus to share their work and to speak about the art of writing.

Chet Raymo, a professor of physics and astronomy since 1964, is the noted author of several books, including his latest release When God Is Gone, Everything Is Holy.