C.J. Chivers, Two-Time Pulitzer Prize Winner at Western
Western Wyoming Community College will host C.J. Chivers on campus for two readings, at 12PM in the Theatre and 7PM in room 1302, followed by a panel discussion on veterans, war and the stresses of being a soldier at 2PM in room 1302.
Chivers is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times writer and Iraq War veteran. He will read from and discuss his 2018 book titled The Fighters which details the lives of several veterans. It is an unvarnished account of modern combat, told through the fighters who have waged America’s longest wars.
“A classic of war reporting…The author’s stories give heart-rending meaning to the lives and deaths of these men and women, even if policymakers generally have not.” – The New York Times
He also wrote The Gun, which is a history of the AK47 which traces the invention of the assault rifle, following the miniaturization of rapid-fire arms from the American Civil War, through World War I, Vietnam War, to present-day Afghanistan, which Kalashnikovs and their knock-offs number as many as 100 million, one for every seventy people on earth.
“What makes The Gun readable is its humanity…Chivers wants to show a richer context…and succeeds admirably” – Military Times
The event is sponsored by Western Wyoming Community College’s Wesswick Visiting Writer’s Committee and Sweetwater BOCES. Books will be available for purchase at the venue and in the bookstore, with copies to borrow available in the Hay Library.
“We’re so lucky to have a writer of the caliber of CJ Chivers to speak with us here at Western, but also he’s a writer with a unique vantage point on the current wars that America has been engaged in. I think it’ll be a great educational experience,” said event organizer and Western English Professor, Chris Propst.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information on this event, please contact Chris Propst at cpropst@westernwyoming.edu. To learn more about C.J. Chivers visit his website at www.cjchivers.com.