UNE welcomes bestselling author Morgan Talty for annual lecture on Indigenous issues

Morgan Talty, bestselling author of “Night of the Living Rez,” spoke at the University of New England’s annual Donna M. Loring Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 5.

Talty is a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation. His debut book is a collection of short stories about what it means to be Penobscot in the 21st century and what it means to live, survive, and persevere after tragedy.

The Donna M. Loring Lecture series addresses current or historic Native American or aboriginal issues and Indigenous rights, as well as women’s issues, civil rights, and issues of fairness and equality as they overlap with the concerns of tribal peoples.

Talty read selections from “Night of the Living Rez” to a large crowd in the St. Francis Room of UNE’s Ketchum Library. The book is the winner of several prestigious awards and was a New York Times Best Book of Summer 2022.

Talty also took questions from audience members, including one student who asked if he had any advice for young writers.

“Don’t quit,” the author responded, noting that it took nine years for his first story to be accepted. “It’s very easy to get disheartened with anything you do artistically. My attitude has changed from thinking about work that fails (and seeing it as a failure) and now seeing it as that you’re on a path. If you do quit, you’re not going to find what it is that you’re looking for.”

Jennifer Tuttle, Ph.D., Dorothy M. Healy Professor of Literature and Health in the UNE School of Arts and Humanities and 2021-2022 Ludcke Chair of Liberal Arts and Sciences, opened the lecture by acknowledging UNE’s place on the land and waters of the Wabanaki people.

“It was powerful for our community and especially our students to meet Morgan and be present as he read his work,” Tuttle said following the event, noting that her English students just finished reading “Night of the Living Rez” for class.

Tuttle referenced a recent review of the book that alludes to Maine’s unofficial motto, “The Way Life Should Be.” In the review, author Kerri Arsenault writes that Talty “presents Maine not as it should be, but as it is.”

“This is devastatingly true, and it is one reason why we feel the Loring Lecture is so vital to UNE’s educational mission,” Tuttle said of Arsenault’s statement. “Speakers like Morgan meet the audience where they are and help keep Indigenous voices at the center of the conversation.”

Sponsored by the Maine Women Writers Collection at UNE, the Donna M. Loring Lecture series is named in honor of Donna Loring, an elder of the Penobscot Indian Nation who recently served as the senior advisor of Tribal Affairs to Maine Gov. Janet Mills.

Loring, who attended Thursday’s event, told the audience that “the Penobscot Nation is really proud of Morgan.”