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Special Event: Letters, Life and Legacy of Carson McCullers

Carlos Dews, editor of the newly published "All the Love You Can Use," discusses Carson McCullers' letters with biographer Mary Dearborn, offering new insights into the acclaimed author's life.

Carlos Dews, the leading scholar and authority on the life and work of Carson McCullers, discusses his new collection, "All the Love You Can Use: The Letters of Carson McCullers," in conversation with Mary Dearborn, author of "Carson McCullers: A Life."

McCullers was one of the most influential American writers of the 20th century. Her acclaimed novels, including "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter," "The Member of the Wedding" and "Reflections in a Golden Eye," explored loneliness, belonging, desire and the lives of people struggling to be understood and accepted.

The first definitive collection of McCullers’ letters, "All the Love You Can Use" spans her correspondence from 1935 until her death in 1967. The letters offer an intimate portrait of the writer, revealing her passion for art and literature, deep friendships, romantic relationships and lifelong search for love and belonging. Together, Dews and Dearborn will explore McCullers’ remarkable life, literary work and enduring legacy.

About the Speakers: 

Carlos Dews is the leading authority on the life and work of Carson McCullers.  He edited McCullers’s unfinished autobiography, "Illumination and Night Glare," and edited the Library of America’s two volume "Complete Works of Carson McCullers." He was the founding director of the Carson McCullers Center for Writers and Musicians at Columbus State University.  Dews is Professor of English at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy.

Mary V. Dearborn is the author of eight books. She received a B.A. in English and Classics from Brown University and a Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University, where she was a Mellon Fellow in the Humanities. She was most recently a fellow at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. She lives in Buckland, Massachusetts. Her "Carson McCullers: A Life" was published by Knopf in 2024.

Public Humanities programs are presented with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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