John Updike to Deliver 2008 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and noted critic will discuss American art

WASHINGTON, March 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- John Updike, Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, poet, internationally-known author and critic, will deliver the 2008 Jefferson Lecture, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced today. The annual NEH-sponsored Jefferson Lecture is the most prestigious honor the federal government bestows for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities.

Updike will present the 37th annual Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities on Thursday, May 22nd, at 7:30 pm at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. In "The Clarity of Things," Updike will examine the connection between America's art and its ideas by posing the question, "What is American about American art?" Updike's lecture will complement the Endowment's new Picturing America initiative (http://picturingamerica.neh.gov), which brings great American art to schools and public libraries to help citizens learn about the people, events, and ideas that have shaped our nation's history.

"John Updike's discerning eye has made him an acute observer of American culture and art," said NEH Chairman Bruce Cole. "His fiction, prose, essays, and poetry over the years have provided invaluable insights into the human condition and into the humanities. The Endowment is proud to have one of the nation's most distinguished authors as our 37th Jefferson Lecturer."

John Updike was born in 1932 in Shillington, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Harvard College in 1954, and spent a year in Oxford, England, at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art. From 1955 to 1957 he was a member of the staff of The New Yorker, and since 1957 has lived in Massachusetts. He is the father of four children and the author of more than fifty books, including collections of short stories, poems, and criticism on literature and art. His novels have won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the American Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction, the Rosenthal Award, the Howells Medal, and the Campion Medal.

In recognition for his literary and critical work, John Updike was presented the National Humanities Medal in 2003.

Tickets to the lecture are free of charge and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Ticket requests must be submitted by May 12th via the online form at http://www.neh.gov. All other inquiries, as well as ticket requests for persons lacking online access, may be directed to (202) 606-8446. The NEH gratefully acknowledges Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Smith for major support for this year's Jefferson Lecture.

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports learning in history, literature, philosophy and other areas of the humanities. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at http://www.neh.gov.