Issue date: 4/14/09 Section: Current Affairs

Bonnie Glover signed and sold her books after the lecture.

Bonnie Glover poses with her books after the event.

Members of the NSU community gathered on March 7, in the Alvin Sherman Library, for a lecture featuring author Bonnie Glover, on behalf of the efforts of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Glover received her law degree from Stetson University and currently resides in Davie, Fla. Her book, "Going Down South," was recently nominated for the 2009 NAACP Image Award for outstanding literary work of fiction. In 2006, her first book, "The Middle Sister" was nominated for the International IMPAC Award.

She began the lecture by speaking about her experience at the NAACP Image Awards, where she had a chance to see actors such as Tracey Ellis Ross, Blair Underwood and Will Smith. Though she did not win the award, she was honored to be nominated, saying that she almost fell off her seat when she found out that she was nominated.

She wrote her first book, "The Middle Sister," 13 years ago after the birth of her second son, and finished it in the middle of moving down to Florida. It was a very dramatic time of her life. She had undergone 80 blood transfusions, three emergency surgeries and the doctor had told her family that she would not survive the birth.

A few months after she got better and learned how to walk again, her husband gave her a laptop. She began to write all the time and visited a Web site called Zoetrope. That is where she meant Eugene Data, an aspiring writer who lived in India. When he received a fellowship to come to the U.S., he got an agent and recommended her. That agent was Elizabeth Sheinkman, who agreed to represent her.

When her book was nominated for the International IMPAC Award, Glover was shocked. "You have no expectations," she said.

She went on to speak about her most recent book, "Going Down South," which looks at the relationship between mothers and daughters. This book was also written during a tumultuous time of her life, as her best friend and mother-in-law both died.

Glover ended the lecture by reading a passage from both of her books. Her reading was met with applause, and some patrons stayed to ask her questions and purchased her books.

Kimberly Kidd, an adult services programming librarian for the Alvin Sherman Library, enjoyed the event, "I thought it was good...We hope to continue it and encourage patrons to read and enjoy good books."

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