IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2008
CONTACT: Gordon Ovenshine:

Office: 724.738.4854

Cell: 724.991.8302

                                                                                                                   gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu

Kaleidoscope 2008

No kidding. SRU hosts irreverent comic book artist Lynda Barry

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Lynda Barry, creator of the national comic strip Ernie Pook’s Comeek, will share her insight into the awkward world of adolescence when she visits Slippery Rock University for a 2 p.m. April 18 reading in the Sports World Culture Building Auditorium. Her free appearance is part of the University’s Kaleidoscope arts festival.

            Barry will sign books and meet fans after the session in which she will read and discuss her work.

            Her cartoons view family life from the perspective of pre-teen girls from the wrong side of the tracks.  She writes about freckles, pigtails and red hair and often pokes fun at teachers and older sisters for their “sticking-out butt dances.” Many strips feature a poetry-spouting poodle.

            “Her stories are a masterful fusion of human emotions,” said Mark O’Connor, SRU associate professor of English. “They are sad and dark, funny and hopeful, a lot like life when you’re 13 and trying to figure out who you are.”

            She uses funny titles for her strips that reflect pre-teen preoccupations. Examples include “Paper Doll Fun,”  “O Toilet,” “Room Mothers,” “Say It Loud” and “Class Schedule.”

            Barry’s books include “The Good Times are Killing Me,” which was also produced as a  musical play that appeared off Broadway, and “The Greatest of Marlys,” “The Freddie Stories,” “Cruddy: An Illustrated Novel” and “One Hundred Demons.”

            Her visit is sponsored by SRU’s department of English and the College of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts.

            Kaleidoscope is April 16-29 and will include concerts by more than 25 music acts, poetry readings, a Children Day and Kaleidoscope on Main town event. For a complete schedule of events visit www.sru.edu.

          Slippery Rock University is Pennsylvania’s premier public residential university. Slippery Rock University provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that make a positive difference in their lives.