April 1, 2004

Author, English professor receives
President's Research Award

Doug Rice

Doug Rice, arguably one of Northern California’s most unusual writers, has been chosen for the President's Award for Research and Creative Activity at California State University, Sacramento.

Rice will present the award’s accompanying lecture at 4 p.m., Tuesday, April 27 in the University Union Hinde Auditorium. It will be titled “The Poetics of Reverie: Stains of Desire Marking Absence.” A reception will follow.

A professor of English at CSUS, Rice grudgingly categorizes his writing as “experimental post-modernist.” His themes, free-flowing story lines and frequent toying with the rules of grammar are high art to some and highly disturbing to others.

And much like his writing, his presentation promises to be a departure from what might be expected at a scholarly lecture. Rice plans to talk about “minor languages” within the dominant language of a society – how they develop to express ideas about gender, sexuality, and other topics that the society isn’t comfortable with. He’ll then perform some examples.

Rice teaches creative writing at CSUS and has published numerous books and articles. His most recent book is Skin Prayer, a collection of short pieces that explore a young boy's gender identities. He’s currently working on two new books, Twilight of God and Thunder Comes for This My House.

Rice’s website is at www.csus.edu/indiv/r/riced. Media assistance is available from CSUS public affairs at (916) 278-6156.

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