On January 16, see 826 Valencia co-founder Dave Eggers and Kevin Powers in conversation with Steven Winn at Herbst Theater for City Arts and Lectures’s On Arts series benefitting the 826 Valencia Scholarship Program.
Dave Eggers is the author of six books, including Zeitoun, What Is the What, and You Shall Know Our Velocity. In 2000, Eggers made his literary debut with his memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. The deeply personal story of family tragedy, post-adolescent ennui, and generational identity was critically praised and enormously popular. His most recent book, A Hologram for the King, about outsourcing and middle-class struggles, features Eggers’ remarkable talents for story telling, humor, and allegory. Eggers is founder and editor of McSweeney’s and co-founder of 826 Valencia, a nonprofit writing and tutoring center for youth started in San Francisco’s Mission District in 2002 now with branches in over seven cities nationwide.
Kevin Powers joined the army at the age of 17, later serving a year as a machine gunner in Mosul and Tal Afar, Iraq, in 2004 and 2005. After his honorable discharge he enrolled in Virginia Commonwealth University and later earned an M.F.A. from the University of Texas at Austin. His first novel, The Yellow Birds, was nominated for a 2012 National Book Award. Called “brilliantly observed and deeply affecting” by The New York Times, the novel tells the story of a young soldier coming of age on the battlefield in Iraq. It is a story of loss of innocence, friendship, and the immeasurable cost of war.
Visit the City Arts and Lectures website to purchase your tickets today.