Published: November 05, 2009 11:23 am      

Author Pamela Duncan to lecture at Dalton State

Dalton State College will welcome Pamela Duncan, author of three award-winning Southern novels, to the campus on Wednesday as a lecturer for one of its fall Fine Arts and Lecture Series events.

Her talk will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Goodroe Auditorium in Memorial Hall and is free and open to the public.

Duncan, who has written “Moon Women,” “Plant Life” and “The Big Beautiful,” is a North Carolina native who is praised by critics for having “a fine ear for dialect, with expert attention to the cadence of regional speech patterns.”

“In the tradition of Fannie Flagg and Rebecca Wells comes a Southern-fried debut,” wrote a reviewer for Publishers Weekly after her initial novel was published in 2001. “Duncan shows promise as a from-the-heart, quirky storyteller.”

Her novels are set in her native state and deal humorously with issues in relationships and families, and with heartbreak and love. “Moon Women,” that first novel, chronicles the tale of three generations of women who live together in a small town and who find themselves separated by a secret that only one of them can tell.

“Plant Life” tells the story of a woman who reluctantly returns to her hometown after her marriage breaks up, but then comes into contact with a group of textile mill workers who teach her a great deal about life.

“Duncan’s ruminative exploration provides a thought-provoking look at how women’s roles change over generations as the world around them changes,” a reviewer for The Baltimore Sun wrote about “Plant Life” after its debut in 2003.

“The Big Beautiful” is the sequel to her first novel. It centers around one of the Moon women, Cassandra, and her decision to leave the bridegroom at the altar in search of adventure.

Duncan, who was born in Asheville, N.C., earned a bachelor of arts in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s in English and creative writing from North Carolina State University. She currently lives in Cullowhee, N.C., and teaches creative writing at Western Carolina University.

“Moon Women” was published in 2001 and was a Southeastern Booksellers Association Award Finalist. “Plant Life” won the 2003 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction. Duncan received the 2007 James Still Award for Writing about the Appalachian South which was awarded by the Fellowship of Southern Writers.

While no reservations are required, seating is limited. Please call (706) 272-4469 for more information.