Graduate School Event Features Talk by Nobel Laureate and Alumnus John Coetzee

John Coetzee, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature, will speak about his time in Austin and the social and political background of his career as a writer in South Africa in the 1970s.

Coetzee, who earned a Ph.D. degree in 1969 from The University of Texas at Austin, is one of the university's most distinguished alumni. Coetzee is an acclaimed novelist, academic and literary critic. Said to be influenced by his own personal history of growing up in South Africa, Coetzee writes with strong anti-imperialist feelings. He has published 13 books, including "The Life and Times of Michael K" in 1983 and "Disgrace" in 1999. Both books were awarded the Booker Prize, making him the first author to be given the award twice. His novel, "Waiting for the Barbarians," was adapted into an opera composed by Philip Glass.

More information is available at the Graduate School events Web site.