Alumna shines light on 1980s racism in novel ‘Stockdale'
Dr. Lewis Tatham, Austin Peay State University professor emeritus of English, calls APSU alumna Priscilla Lalisse a new voice from the South.In his review of Stockdale, Tatham says, Hers is not the usual story of prejudice and discrimination, but rather one of inter-racial love and of the difficulties such loves encounters in a society not yet ready to accept it.
Dr. Lewis Tatham, Austin Peay State University professor emeritus of English, calls APSU alumna Priscilla Lalisse “a new voice from the South.”
In his review of “Stockdale,” Tatham says, “Hers is not the usual story of prejudice and discrimination, but rather one of inter-racial love and of the difficulties such loves encounters in a society not yet ready to accept it.”
Lalisse, who now lives in Paris, France, will be the guest of the APSU National Alumni Association for a reception and book signing from 4-6 p.m., Tuesday, March 28 at the Pace Alumni Center at Emerald Hill. At $17.95 each, copies of “Stockdale” will be available for sale at the reception, which is free and open to the public.
Published in November 2005 by iUniverse, “Stockdale” is Lalisse's first novel. The events in the book take place in the 1980s in the small town of Stockdale, Ala. Lalisse, a native of Heflin, Ala., says, “Stockdale is a fictitious place, although it used to exist. It is now part of the city of Talladega, Ala.”
After earning her bachelor's (1994) and master's (1996) degrees in English from APSU, she moved to New York City to become an editor for JOOP and C++ magazines.
In 1999, she moved to Paris, her adopted home, and began working as a technical writer. She also is a regular contributing writer to such online publications as Bonjour Paris and Café de la Soul as well as Paris Woman Journal, for which she is page editor.
In her review of “Stockdale,” K. Danielle Edwards, author of the novel, “Stacy Jones,” says, “This is the memoir of a girl labeled as ‘black,' who sees the world in Technicolor, and fights for self-definition in a microcosm that revolves around flesh tones.”
For more information about the reception and book signing, contact Shelia Boone, director of alumni and annual giving, by telephone at (931) 221-7979 or e-mail at boones@apsu.edu. -- Dennie B. Burke