11:05 a.m., Dec. 2, 2002--University of Delaware faculty and students will read works by Imre Kertesz, winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Literature, at 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 4, in 123 Memorial Hall.

Although only two of his books have been translated into English, the Hungarian novelist and essayist has been widely acclaimed in Europe.

A survivor of Auschwitz, Kertesz uses his works to ask whether it is possible to live and think as an individual in an era in which the subjection of human beings to social forces has become increasingly complete.

His works—including “Sorstalanság” (1975), published in English as “Fateless” (1992), and “Kaddis a meg nem született gyermekért” (1990), English edition “Kaddish for a Child not Born,” (1997)—always return to the decisive event in his life, the period spent in Auschwitz, where he was taken as a teenage boy during the Nazi persecution of Hungary’s Jews.

Faculty readers include Ralph Begleiter, Rosenberg Professor of Communication and Distinguished Journalist in Residence, Richard Davison, James Dean, and Stephen Helmling, all professors of English, and Lois Potter, Ned Allen Professor of English. Also participating are Joszef Bukszar, a postdoctoral fellow in engineering, and Barbara Lutz, an instructor in the Writing Center, as well as several graduate and undergraduate students.

The reading will give Americans a chance to hear Kertesz’s writings. Two guest readers will read a few passages in Hungarian while the audience follows translated copies of the work. A sampling of Hungarian food also will be available.

The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. For more information, call 831-2361 or visit [www.nobel.se/index.html].