Cheyney University News March 2, 2017 Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Charles Fuller Holds "Fireside Chat" at Cheyney University The ballroom of Cheyney University's Carnegie Hall was transformed with carpets, candles and chairs on Tuesday, February 28 to welcome Pulitzer prize-winning author and playwright, Charles Fuller. The cozy "Fireside Chat" hosted by the Keystone Honors Academy was the end to a very eventful Black History Month on Cheyney's historic campus. The "Literary Legend" event invited students, faculty and staff to gather and listen to the experiences of Fuller, even allowing a question and answer session with the speaker at the end of the night. In a special twist, Fuller relinquished addressing the crowd from behind a podium, and instead chose to sit comfortably in front of the audience, aligned with the relaxed atmosphere of the evening. Fuller is renowned for his prolific career that has spanned over six decades. A native of Philadelphia, PA, he began writing plays in the mid-1960s, creating scripts such as "The Village: A Party" and "My Names and Days" and soon co-founded the Afro-American Arts Theatre. His impressive portfolio includes several other plays that have been performed in New York City and as off-Broadway productions throughout the country. Most notably, he is heralded for "A Soldier's Play", which won him a Pulitzer Prize and, in 1984, was adapted into the movie "A Soldier's Story" starring Denzel Washington. The movie nabbed Fuller many award nods, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay Adaptation and three Village Voice Obie Awards. At the intimate event, Junior Fine Arts and Graphic Design Major Rhonda Davis joined Fuller in front of the fireplace, asking him an array of prepared questions concerning his experiences as an African-American writer and requesting guidance for students who aspire to pursue the arts. "Art and writing are wonderful, but they are a job," he advised the audience, "it's what I do. If you learn your craft, it becomes something you can train yourself to do, and you should be able to do it whenever you want to." His wisdom made an especially strong impact on Senior English Major and published poet Shaneka Briggs. "His answer about the arts as a job was something that I had never heard before. The way he framed creativity was so interesting because if you do something that is your career, it's not necessarily being a creative person but just doing your job. I never thought of writing in that way. It's something to consider because I plan to write in my career and future." Fuller spoke candidly about winning a Pulitzer prize. "It is a wonderful thing to win something so historic. I would like to win it again and again," he exclaimed. "What we do becomes part of this country. I know that I put something into the history of the United States that wasn't there before." Fuller is just one of many literary icons that have travelled to Cheyney University this academic school year as part of the Interlude: Literary Salon Series sponsored, in part, by the Keystone Honors Academy. Freshman Communication Arts Major Bryanna Taylor applauded this emphasis on the arts. "These events are great because they inspire our creativity. Sometimes, college students feel they need to do what is realistic or practical to be successful, but these literary events allow us to talk to creative people about what they do and how they got started. It's an eye opener. These events show us people who have a career doing something they can have a good time doing." SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta, GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org/ sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org%3cmailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org>> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/