THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED.  We hope to reschedule for the fall. 

This year marks the 17th annual Tom Wolfe Weekend Seminar, W&L’s ultimate book club. Sponsored by the W&L Class of 1951 in honor of its late classmate Tom Wolfe, the program honors a distinguished writer and observer of the American scene. This year, we turn to one of our own, Rebecca Makkai, W&L class of 1999, whose critically acclaimed novel, “The Great Believers,” was a National Book Award Finalist and was selected as one of the 10 Best Books of 2018 by The New York Times Book Review.

Joining Rebecca Makkai are Lesley Wheeler, Henry S. Fox Professor of English, and Edward Adams, professor of English. Each will discuss “The Great Believers” from a variety of perspectives. What does the novel tell us about relationships haunted by an oppressive sense of mortality, the human longing for community and the intricacies of family life? Further, what moved Rebecca Makkai to write about the AIDS crisis and the lingering effects of the crisis on those fortunate enough to have survived it? The discussion of these challenging questions should make for a most illuminating seminar.