Lentz Presents New Novel

GAMBIER, Ohio (March 25, 2009) Perry Lentz, Charles P. McIlvaine Professor of English, will present his new novel, Perish From the Earth (XOXOX Press), on Thursday, March 26, at 11:10 a.m. in the Peirce Hall Lounge and on Tuesday, March 31, at 7:00 p.m. in the Brandi Recital Hall.

Lentz will discuss and read from his novel on both days. He will sign copies of the book during a reception in the Storer Hall foyer after the March 31 event, which is co-sponsored by the Kenyon Review and XOXOX Press. The events are free, and the public is invited.

In a story of grand sweep, this historical fiction imagines how the American Civil War may have ended differently, with the rebellious states winning a first round. The novel follows the exploits of a Confederate provocateur altering the course of history.

Lentz, on the Kenyon faculty since 1969, is also the author of the 1967 novel The Falling Hills, which was reissued in 1994 by the University of South Carolina Press, and the 1973 novel It Must Be Now the Kingdom Coming (Crown). He also wrote the 2006 non-fiction book Private Fleming at Chancellorsville: The Red Badge of Courage in the Civil War (University of Missouri Press).