Two Renowned Writers Coming to UM-Flint

Each year, The Myron and Margaret Winegarden Visiting Professorship brings individuals

of national and international reputation to the University of Michigan-Flint campus. This

year, two writers of world and national renowned, Tariq Ali and Christopher Paul Curtis

will teach and/or interact with classes, participate in meetings with students and faculty,

conduct lectures for students, faculty, staff and the community.
The Myron and Margaret Winegarden Visiting Professorship was established in 2001

through a generous gift from the estate of Margaret Winegarden.

"We are very honored and excited that distinguished individuals such as these will be serving
our University as Winegarden Professors," said Provost Jack Kay. "We promise you that their
visits will be interesting and memorable."

Academic Year 2008-09 ♦

Tariq Ali is an internationally renowned journalist, novelist,
historian, film-maker, and political commentator. He was born
in Pakistan, but as a result of his opposition to the military dictatorship,
he was forced to leave the country for England where he finished his
studies at Oxford University. He was very prominent in
student movements in the '60s and even debated diplomats such as
Henry Kissinger about the war in Vietnam. Tariq Ali is perhaps
best known for his novels and historical and political commentaries.
His second novel, Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree (1993) was
an immediate international best-seller. He is also
internationally well-known for his thought-provoking historical
and political essays.
He has written a superb social history of the 1960s, Street-Fighting Years, giving us an up-close look at figures such as Malcolm X, Marlon Brando, and John Lennon. Most recently, his book, Bush in Babylon (2003), is a critique of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and brings the voices of poets and artists from the region. Tariq Ali will be fulfilling his appointment as the 2008-09 Winegarden Visiting Professor in the Winter Semester and lives in London with his family.

Academic Year 2009-10 ♦

Christopher Paul Curtis was born in Flint, Michigan, the setting of
many of his books. He was a great reader, but as a youth, he could
not find books that "were about me." After high school, Curtis spent
13 years on the assembly line of Flint's historic Fisher Body Plant.
He attended college at night and wrote during his breaks to escape
the noise of the factory. Christopher Paul Curtis made an
outstanding debut in children's literature with The Watsons
Go to Birmingham – 1963, named a Newbery Honor Book a
nd a Coretta Scott King Honor Book. His second novel,
Bud, Not Buddy, won the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott
King Award. Christopher Paul Curtis will be fulfilling his appointment
as the 2009-10 Winegarden Visiting Professor during parts of both the Fall and Winter Semesters.