Denise Giardina, novelist
Denise Giardina will read from her published novels at the second "Writers Read" of the fall semester 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, in Martin Chapel of the seminary building at EMU.
Giardina was born in the coal camp of Black Wolf near Bluefield, W.Va. She attended West Virginia Wesleyan University and did graduate work at Marshall University. A 1979 graduate of the Episcopal seminary in Alexandria, Va., Giardina became a writer instead of an ordained minister. Her first novel, "Good King Harry," an historical novel about Henry V, was published in 1984.
Giardina’s second novel, "Storming Heaven" (1987), is based on the battle of Blair Mountain, W.Va. "The Unquiet Earth" (1992) is a continuation of her second novel and further addresses the injustices committed in West Virginia and Kentucky by the coal companies. "Saints and Villains" (1999) is the award-winning fictional account of theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life.
The program is co-sponsored by the language and literature department at EMU and by the Green Valley Book Fair near Mt. Crawford.
Admission to the program, which includes dinner, is $12. Students with I.D. will be admitted for $5. Advance reservations should be made by noon Wednesday, Oct. 26, by calling the EMU box office at (540) 432-4582. A season pass to all four scheduled Writers Read events is available for $40.