Robin Lawton, professor emerita of English at Linfield College, will present a reading on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Austin Reading Room of the Jereld R. Nicholson Library at Linfield.
“A Love Story and a Riddle: The Life and Letters of Helen Hunter Dixon Evans” explores the marriage of a young couple who met only months before the Wall Street Crash in 1929 and together endured the Great Depression, British colonialism in Africa, the rise of Nazi Germany, and the global chaos of World War II. This is the story of Lawton’s family, captured primarily in handwritten letters with accompanying personal accounts and historic photos.
Lawton’s own life story reflects her connections with America (her mother’s homeland) and South Africa (her father’s homeland). She spent her first 35 years in South Africa where she completed her studies in English literature and taught at what is now known as the University of Westville before emigrating to the United States with her husband and two sons in 1973. In 1979, Robin joined the faculty at Linfield College, where she taught for 25 years. She now devotes herself to her writing.
This reading, part of the “Readings at the Nick” series, is jointly sponsored by Linfield’s Nicholson Library and the Department of English. It is being held in conjunction with other events honoring retiring Linfield Professor of English Katherine Kernberger. The reading is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Susan Barnes Whyte at 503-883-2517 or swhyte@linfield.edu.
