Tony DSouza, award-winning author and University of Notre Dame graduate, will read from his latest novelThe KonkansMarch 12 (Wednesday) at 7:30 p.m. in the hospitality room of Reckers in the Universitys South Dining Hall.
Sponsored by Notre Dames Creative Writing Program, the event is free and open to the public.
InThe Konkans,Francisco DSai is a firstborn son of a firstborn sonall the way back to the beginning of a long line of proud Konkans, known as theJews of India.The Konkans kneeled before the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gamas sword and before Saint Francis Xaviers cross, abandoned their Hindu traditions, and became Catholics.In 1973, protagonist Franciscos Konkan father, Lawrence, and American mother, Denise, moved to Chicago, where Francisco was born.His father, who does his best to assimilate into American culture, drinks a lot and speaks little, but his mother, who served in the Peace Corps in India, and his Uncle Sam are passionate raconteurs who do their best to preserve the familys Konkan heritage.
DSouza also is the author ofWhiteman,which in 2006 was named a New York Times Editors Pick, People magazine CriticsChoice, Poets&Writers Best First Fiction, and Borders Original Voices selection.
Born and raised in Chicago, DSouza earned masters degrees in writing from Notre Dame and Hollins University and served for three years in the Peace Corps in West Africa, where he was a rural AIDS educator.
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