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September 13, 2002|Volume 31, Number 2



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Law School authors featured on 'Today Show'

When the "Today Show" on NBC launched its new Book Club feature, the first two authors it showcased were from the Yale Law School: Professor Stephen Carter and second-year student Adam Haslett.

In the segment -- the NBC equivalent of Oprah Winfrey's popular book club on ABC -- the "Today Show" asks a different celebrity writer each month to select and promote the work of a lesser-known author. A few weeks after the selection is announced, the show invites a group composed of members of book clubs from across the nation to meet the chosen writer and discuss the book.

The "Today Show's" first writer/talent scout was John Grisham, a lawyer who is acclaimed for his "legal thrillers." Grisham selected Carter's debut work of fiction, "The Emperor of Ocean Park," as the first book of the month. Carter's legal thriller has gotten widespread attention both for the unprecedented advance the Yale scholar received from the publisher and for the critical praise it has received.

Carter, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, was no stranger to the reading public before he turned his hand to fiction. The list of non-fiction books to his credit includes such popular and provocative works as "Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby," "Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy" and "The Culture of Disbelief."

Carter's latest book is a high-profile murder mystery, much of it set against the background of an Ivy League law school and a vacation community on Martha's Vineyard. Critics have said that Carter's characters come from a demographic group that has been largely ignored in popular fiction: upper-middle-class African-Americans. When a book club member questioned Carter about this, he responded, "If the success of this book means that publishers or filmmakers will be more interested in this class, that's a good thing. On the other hand, I wouldn't want the book's focus on that group to mean we should stop thinking about those who are being left behind."

The second celebrity author to pick the "Today Show" Book Club selection was Jonathan Franzen, author of the prize-winning novel "The Corrections." Franzen chose to showcase the first published work by Haslett, "You Are Not a Stranger Here," a collection of short stories.

Haslett had been trying to balance fiction and the law ever since, several years ago, he deferred his admission to Yale Law School to follow his literary muse. His apprenticeship included a stint at the prestigious Iowa Writer's Workshop and several short stories, one of which was published in the literary magazine Zoetrope: All Story. Turning back to the study of law, Haslett was well into his first year at Yale when an editor who had seen the story in Zoetrope contacted him about publishing a collection of his works.

Another year off from law school and several short stories later, Haslett saw "You Are Not a Stranger Here" published to critical acclaim. The collection consists of nine short stories, which have -- in Franzen's words -- "something urgent and fresh and fiercely intelligent to say." While many of the stories have characters with a mental illness and some have characters who are gay, there is no single "theme" running through all the stories in the book, says Haslett, who is now back at Yale as a full-time student.

Rather, he notes, the book is "about characters who are trying to connect with each other, people in emotional situations where they're really trying to understand themselves and understand the people they're trying to love."


T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Yale to honor life of Edward Bouchet

Law School authors featured on 'Today Show'

Researchers win grants supporting women in the sciences

University Information

Famed poets to give readings and discuss their craft

ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS

Yale Library taking lead on project to establish international database . . .

Three classics are woven into one in Rep's first offering

Painter and former art school dean Andrew Forge dies

Conference looks at conflict in Central Asia, Caucasus

Program will explore recent accomplishments and trends . . .

Film Fest showcases works by independent filmmakers

The art of wood turning is focus of symposium

Panel to explore the future of the environment

Coming to America: Program brings the world to New Haven

Traditions of French, American revolutions explored in weekend conference

President Richard C. Levin's Freshman Address

Yale College Dean Richard H. Brodhead's Freshman Address

Graduate students begin Yale chapter of their 'love story'

They're here! Photos of the arrival of the Class of 2006

While You Were Away: The Summer's Top Stories Revisited

Interns dedicated themselves to a summer of service

Sports and music were on the agenda in groups' trips abroad

Sports Spotlight

Yale Books in Brief

Campus Notes


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