Connie May Fowler, a lifelong Florida novelist, screenwriter and essayist whose works have touched on personal relationship, domestic violence and the disappearing landscape of the state, will be the next speaker at UCF’s Writers in the Sun series on Jan. 21.
Fowler, who lives in St. Augustine, has written several novels, including “Before Women had Wings,” which won the 1996 Southern Book Critics Circle Award and was adapted for an Emmy-winning film starring Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Barkin and Julia Stiles.
“Connie May Fowler writes in ways that make magical the most humble of characters and events,” said Lisa Roney, an associate professor in the Department of English, which hosts the series. “We wanted to bring her to UCF because she is both a quintessential Florida writer, and also because she brings such a sharp eye to this landscape that she makes us see it in a new light.”
Fowler writes from a background of hardship and overcoming, and has spent years as an activist against domestic violence.
In a 2009 interview she commented about how many in Florida seem to abandon memories of the past as other residents move in and redefine the state:
“Our cultural, sociological, and historical memories seem to vanish with each new skyscraper,” she said. “So for me, writing is a madwoman’s attempt at trying to remember what is and was real in a place whose primary constant is change.”
Fowler will read from her work 4:30-5:45 p.m. Jan. 21 in the College of Health & Public Affairs, Room 119, and will sign books 6-7 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble in the John T. Washington Center.