NOVELIST MADISON SMARTT BELL TO GIVE TALK AND READING
AS REA VISITING WRITER AT U.VA. IN NOVEMBER

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 15 -- Award-winning short-story
writer and novelist Madison Smartt Bell will present a public talk
and a reading as the Rea Visiting Writer at the University of
Virginia next month.
	Bell, whose most recent novel, "Save Me, Joe Louis," was
published last year to considerable acclaim, will give an informal
talk about writing Nov. 7 and will read a selection from his work
Nov. 9.  Both events will be held at 8 p.m. in Room 153 Campbell
Hall.
	A member of the English faculty at Goucher College, Bell,
37, is a prolific author, having published some eight books of
fiction in the decade since his first novel, "The Washington Square
Ensemble," appeared in 1983.  Among them are the novels "Waiting for
the End of the World," "Straight Cut" and "Soldier's Joy," and the
collections, "Zero db and Other Stories" and "Barking Man and Other
Stories."
	He is a graduate of Princeton University and holds an M.A.
from Hollins College.
	The Rea Visiting Writer Program in the English department
sponsors a noted fiction writer or poet for a weeklong visit each
semester.  In addition to public presentations, they work closely
with students in classes and workshops.
	The Rea program is supported by the Dungannon Foundation of
New York City.  Its president, Michael M. Rea, is a book and art
collector and a 1952 University alumnus.
###
October 14, 1994