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Dorothy Allison's books "Bastard out of Carolina" and "Cavedweller" have been bestsellers.
The Minnesota State University lecture series that brought Kathy Najimy and Gloria Steinem to campus is set to bring in another influential feminist.
Dorothy Allison, author of the award-winning books “Bastard Out of Carolina,” and “Cavedweller,” will talk about her career and life as a feminist activist Oct. 16 in MSU’s Centennial Student Union Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public.
Her talk is this year’s Perkins lecture, named after Carol Ortman Perkins. The Department of Women’s Studies launched the Perkins Lectureship campaign in 2003 to commemorate Perkins’ retirement as chairwoman of the department for more than a decade.
Lecturers are chosen based on their contributions to feminist scholarship and their ability to forge connections between theory and practice.
Allison grew up in Greenville, S.C., the first child of a 15-year-old unwed mother who worked as a waitress. She describes herself as “a feminist, a working class storyteller, a Southern expatriate, a sometime poet and a happily born-again Californian.”
In a statement released by the Women’s Studies Department, Allison says the early feminist movement changed her life. “It was like opening your eyes under water. It hurt, but suddenly everything that had been dark and mysterious became visible and open to change.”
Deirdre Rosenfeld, director of MSU’s Women’s Center, said they ask the speakers who agree to come in for the Perkins lecture to talk about the path their lives have taken as they have evolved as feminist activists.
Rosenfeld said people who come to Allison’s talk can expect some Southern-flavored storytelling. Allison, she said, is known for making connections with her audience.
“She likes to get to know communities she’s in,” Rosenfeld said. “She really builds a relationship with the audience.”
Much of Allison’s written work has featured women in poverty in the South, a part of the country that is, like the Midwest, sometimes ignored by the majority.
“If you look at majority culture, we’re really used to stories from Boston, New York, Chicago or the West Coast,” she said. “It’s so important to see yourself represented in the media or the public eye.”
If You Go
What: Author Dorothy Allison, this year’s Perkins lecture at Minnesota State University
When: 7 p.m. Oct. 16
Where: Centennial Student Union Ballroom, MSU
Cost: The lecture is free and open to the public
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