University of New England

UNE acquires author Cathie Pelletier's papers and celebrates her new book

The Maine Women Writers Collection at the University of New England hosted an event celebrating its acquisition of critically-acclaimed Maine author Cathie Pelletier’s papers. On Thursday, September 22, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. there was a reception and book signing at the Maine Women Writers Collection in the Abplanalp Library on the Westbrook College Campus, 716 Stevens Avenue in Portland.

Cathie Pelletier is the critically acclaimed author of six novels published under her own name - most recently "Beaming Sonny Home" - and of several novels published under the pseudonym K. C. McKinnon. Pelletier spoke at the reception and signed copies of her newest book, "Running the Bulls." Well-known poet Wesley McNair also spoke.

Reviews
Cathie Pelletier’s novels have been praised as "hilarious, generous and genuine" (New Yorker), "bitingly original" (Vogue), "masterful," (Washington Post), and "funny and unexpectedly moving" (New York Times). She is "absolutely, inherently funny," says the Los Angeles Times, "yet she can walk the tightrope between humor and grief without once losing her balance." In "Running the Bulls," she is in top form. Under the name of K.C. McKinnon, her novel "Dancing at the Harvest Moon," was made into a CBS film starring Jacqueline Bisset and Valerie Harper, which first aired October 2002.

Publicity about "Running the Bulls," describes it as "deftly combining the poignant and the hilarious" with the following summary: "One year and six days into an unsatisfactory retirement, Howard Woods is awakened by his wife in the early hours of the morning to hear the news of a decades-old betrayal. He does not take it well. Howard upends his well-ordered life and, to the dismay of his family, announces his intention of traveling to Spain to join the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona."

Pelletier's papers consist of manuscripts and correspondence covering the years from her youth, including from her secondary and high school years, up to complete manuscripts and working papers for almost all of her books. Correspondence reflects relationships with many well-known contemporary American writers. The working papers contain collaborative material from Pelletier’s work with other writers on several projects, which shed light on the contemporary American literary scene of the late 20th century.  All of these papers will and have already served as research material for scholars who are studying both Pelletier's work specifically, and for scholars studying Maine or any regional literature and how the place and people are interpreted through the writing as fiction.

For more information on this event, and upcoming events, patrons may view the MWWC website at www.une.edu/mwwc  or call Curator Cally Gurley at 207-797-7688 Ext. 4324 or email cgurley@une.edu.

(Press release issued Sept. 1, 2005)