Award-winning author Daniel Quinn will speak at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 16 in the Saint Louis Room of the Busch Memorial Center. Quinn’s lecture “The Year 3000 Begins Tonight at Midnight” is part of the Great Issues Speakers series.
Quinn is the author of the recent works, Providence (1995), The Story of B (1996) and My Ishmael: A Sequel (1997). His best-known work, Ishmael, which presents a study of ecology, life, freedom and the human condition, won the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship in 1991 for producing “creative and positive solutions to global problems.”
In his most recent publication, Beyond Civilization: Humanity’s Next Great Adventure, Quinn reacts to the argument that civilization represents a final state of human development which cannot be abandoned.
Quinn’s books are widely regarded by readers as futuristic and visionary and are used in classrooms from kindergarten to college.
A native of Omaha, Neb., Quinn studied at SLU, the University of Vienna and Loyola University of Chicago and worked in publishing for 20 years.
Quinn’s public appearances, lectures and other achievements have run a large gamut. Quinn instituted the Stateville Penitentiary Writers’ Workshop (1969-71) and served on the Board of Listeners of the World Uranium Hearing, Salzburg, Austria, convened in 1992 to hear testimony of victims of uranium mining and nuclear power disasters around the world.
Quinn has addressed students and faculty at numerous schools, including the University of Massachusetts, the University of Texas and Texas A&M. He addressed the 1993 Minnesota Social Investment Forum and the 1993 President’s Symposium at Virginia Tech. Quinn served as keynote speaker at numerous events, including the World Population Forum in 1995, the 1994 Systems Thinking in Action conference in San Francisco and the 1995 Vision 2000 conference.
Quinn and his wife, Rennie, live in Houston.
Pius XII Memorial Library will feature a display of Quinn’s works and his biographical information. A book-signing session will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 15 at Left Bank Books, 399 N. Euclid Ave.
