In addition to the Vsiting Witers series,  The English Department and Creative Writing program offer several additional events each year in literature and writing.

This Fall’s event, co-sponsored by the creative writing program and the Hub-Bub arts organization, features a reading by Margaret Hathaway from her new book, The Year of the Goat, 40,000 Miles and the Quest for the Perfect Cheese, and a cheese tasting from South Carolina cheese makers.

Wednesday, November 14, Margaret Hathaway  at the Hub-Bub Showroom.

Many of us have dreamed of leaving the workday world for a life of simplicity and freedom, and Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz did just that. Feeling like something was missing from their city lives, the couple began to dream of an existence that was closer to the land and became captivated by the idea of themselves as... goat farmers. Realizing that they knew little about goats, and even less about farming, they gave themselves a year to explore the world of goats and decide if that was where they belonged. In THE YEAR OF THE GOAT, the reader can jump in the "goat mobile" and follow their adventures as they ditch their big-city lifestyle to trek across forty-three states in search of greener pastures and the perfect goat cheese. Along the way, the reader is introduced to a vivid cast of characters--including farmers, breeders, cheese makers, and world-class chefs--and learns everything there is to know about goats and getting back to the land. From the largest goat auction in Texas to a South Carolina dairy, from a Tennessee barbecue cook-off to a tasting session with New York's premier maitre fromager, from Chicago's famed Billy Goat Tavern to the rolling pastures of Northern California, the couple pursues all things goat.

Part food memoir and part picaresque travel narrative, THE YEAR OF THE GOAT marries the author's twin obsessions with food and all things goat and tells the story of one couple's fascinating journey.

Return to this page for the announcement of future events.