Office of Speaker Dennis M. O’Brien

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

139 Main Capitol Building, Harrisburg

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                        CONTACT:  Jeanne H. Schmedlen

                                                                                                                                   717-705-1894

Speaker of the House Dennis M. O’Brien Announces John Updike Will Deliver 2007 Speaker’s Millennium Lecture

April 23 free public lecture scheduled in Capitol

HARRISBURG, Feb. 8  --  Speaker of the House of Representatives Dennis M. O’Brien (R-Phila.) announced today that renowned author, art critic and native Pennsylvanian John Updike will deliver the annual Speaker’s Millennium Lecture at 7 p.m. on April 23 at the state Capitol. 

“I am thrilled that Mr. Updike has accepted our invitation to come home to Pennsylvania to deliver the Millennium Lecture,” O’Brien said.  “Often, his work reflects the values he cultivated at his mother’s knee when he was growing up in Shillington, Berks County.”

“Bringing John Updike ‘home’ to Pennsylvania to deliver the 2007 Speaker’s Millennium Lecture speaks well of the continuing partnership of the Speaker and the Pennsylvania Humanities Council,” says Randall M. Miller, the chairman of the PHC.   “This partnership rests on the common understanding that the humanities, as demonstrated in the work of celebrated author and critic John Updike, have much to teach us.  It reminds us that history, literature, folklore, philosophy, and the arts matter.”

Since 2000, the Speaker’s Office of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives has partnered with the Pennsylvania Humanities Council to host this program.  The PHC inspires people to come together and share a life of learning.  Since 1973, the PHC has provided resources that empower local groups to help their communities explore history, literature, the arts, and the ideas that shape the human experience.

A live audience of 600 will assemble in Harrisburg’s Hall of the House of Representatives to hear Updike and to reflect on American ideals and values as Pennsylvanians go forward in the new century.  Broadcast live on the Pennsylvania Cable Network, the program also will reach millions of homes statewide.

Pulitzer Prize-winning Updike joins the ranks of former Millennium speakers – Anna Quindlen, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Studs Terkel, James McPherson and David McCullough – in creating a dialogue among Pennsylvanians about the ideas and history that have shaped our country.

John Updike’s body of work is large, consisting of novels, collections of poems, short stories and essays.  He is internationally known for his Rabbit series of novels.  Other novels include The Centaur, Couples, The Coup, Gertrude and Claudius and Villages.  His most recent work, Terrorist, examines on the idea of “home grown terror.”

Born in Shillington (near Reading), Updike has become one of America’s most successful writers.  As an essayist, Updike is a gentle satirist, poking fun at American life and customs, without mean-spiritedness.  He observes the ordinary life he sees around him, and frequently asks the reader to recognize and reconsider one’s preconceptions.

Seating for this free, public event is limited and is available on a first come-first served basis. Those who wish to obtain tickets should e-mail or fax Jeanne Schmedlen in the Speaker’s Office at jschmedl@pahousegop.com, FAX 717-787-5201.

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