By
Vanessa Francis
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Three female authors scheduled to speak at event
The Women's Studies Advisory Council will present the seventh annual Women and Writers event "Writers' Journeys: Real and Imagined" tomorrow as a fundraiser for the UA women's studies department.
"(Female characters in literature) are extremely important; they molded my life," said Bonnie Henry, an Arizona Daily Star columnist and moderator of the event. "They are probably more important than those seen on television and movies because you can imagine them in your own mind... and they can look more like you and your friends."
The Women's Studies Advisory Council (WOSAC) is a community-based membership organization which benefits the University of Arizona women's studies program as well as local women who have recently re-entered the work force, said event chairperson Diedre Mardon.
The event, featuring local playwright Elaine Romero, Belizian writer Zee Edgell and East Coast author Mary-Ann Tirone Smith, will take place at two venues tomorrow.
"These authors encompass many aspects of women's issues," Mardon said.
The first reading begins at 9:30 a.m. at Catalina High School, 3645 E. Pima St. All authors will read excerpts from their work to an estimated 600 students from across Tucson Unified School District.
"It's a motivation for students in writing," said Pat Hnilo, senior program coordinator. "All these authors represent three areas in writing."
Smith, rather than just reading from her first book, "The Book of Phoebe," plans on talking more about the process of writing.
"I want to talk about writing and how I became a writer," Smith said.
"The Book of Phoebe," published in 1985, is a coming-of-age tale about a woman named Phoebe who becomes pregnant during her college years and moves to Paris.
Smith resists calling her book a young-adult novel, despite its use in many college-prepatory classes.
"I don't think the category (of young-adult) should have ever happened; it was invented back in the '50s to protect children from the evils of the world," she said. "I think by age 12, teens can read any adult novel."
Smith, a former kindergarten teacher and librarian, joined the Peace Corps in the 1960s and traveled to Africa, where she and others organized the first public library in Cameroon. The author of six novels, Smith said she is also a book reviewer for the New York Times Book Review and the Boston Globe.
Smith said she plans on reading from her latest novel, "American Killing," at the evening event, which begins at 7 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel, 445 S. Alvernon Way.
In addition, Tucson-based playwright Romero will read from her play "Before Death Comes the Archbishop," which received the American Playwright's Award in December. This semester, Romero is also teaching a UA course in play writing.
"I may also read from 'Living Dolls,'" she said. "It's a one act play taking place in a cafe and is about women's issues and gender issues in the Latina culture."
Many of Romero's works deal with issues relating to gender and how gender impacts women "who are coming into their own."
Edgell, an associate professor at Kent State University, is the final author scheduled to read.
The winner of the Fawcett Society Book Award in 1982 for her book "Beka Lamb," Edgell was also active in politics and women's affairs in her home country of Belize.
Vanessa Francis can be reached at catalyst@wildcat.arizona.edu.
