PSU Weekend with author Paul Theroux
October 17-19, 2008

Half a lifetime ago, Paul Theroux virtually invented the modern travel narrative by recounting his grand tour by train through Asia in The Great Railway Bazaar. In the three decades since, the world he recorded in that book has undergone phenomenal change. His latest book Ghost Train to the Eastern Star chronicles his odyssey from Eastern Europe, still hung over from communism, through tense but thriving Turkey into the Caucasus, where Georgia limps back toward feudalism while its neighbor Azerbaijan revels in oil-fueled capitalism. Theroux is firsthand witness to it all, traveling as the locals do—by stifling train, rattletrap bus, illicit taxi, and mud-caked foot—encountering adventures only he could have. No one is better able to capture the texture, sights, smells, and sounds of that changing landscape than Paul Theroux.

Paul Theroux published his first novel, Waldo, in 1967. His subsequent novels include The Family Arsenal, Picture Palace, The Mosquito Coast, O-Zone, Millroy the Magician, My Secret History, My Other Life, and Kowloon Tong. His highly acclaimed travel books include Riding the Iron Rooster, The Great Railway Bazaar, The Old Patagonian Express, and Fresh Air Fiend. The Mosquito Coast and Dr. Slaughter have both been made into successful films. He was the guest editor of The Best American Travel Writing (Houghton Mifflin, October 2001). Theroux is a frequent contributor to magazines including Talk and Men's Journal.

Paul Theroux's keynote address will be Saturday, October 18
Meet Paul Theroux in person at the Preview Night Party, Friday, October 17

PSU Weekend is a unique community-wide event sponsored by the PSU Alumni Association that welcomes more than 1,200 friends, alumni, and neighbors to campus for an educational and entertaining weekend. For more information contact the PSU Alumni Association.