Linda Spalding Reading

Reading Co-Sponsored By Center For Biographical Research and English Department, UH Manoa

Linda Spalding, novelist, poet, and writer of creative non-fiction, will read from Who Named the Knife, her recent book on a Honolulu murder trial and its aftermath, on Tuesday, May 20th, at 7:30 p.m. at the Korean Studies Center at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Admission is free.

In 1982 she was a juror in the trial of Maryann Acker, who was accused of kidnapping, robbery, and murder. Spalding kept a notebook during the trial, noticing that the prime witness for the State, Acker's ex-husband, was frequently changing his story. On the last day, Spalding-five minutes late-was excused from the jury, and Acker was convicted. Two months later, Spalding moved to Canada. Eighteen years later, Spalding found the diary she had kept during the trial. She then contacted Maryann Acker, and began the process of trying to get her a new trial.

Publishers Weekly writes that Spalding's "strong, elegant prose carries the story along effortlessly. With her own life full of tragedy-a failed marriage, the accidental death of a brother and sister-in-law-Spalding both relates to Acker and suffers from guilt, knowing her vote might have spared Acker a life behind bars. Along the way, Spalding weaves a beautiful story about coming to terms with her mother's imminent death and her unresolved relationship with her often violent-tempered father. This delicate yet powerful work should find a wide readership."

Linda Spalding is the author of the novel Daughters of Captain Cook, the non-fiction memoir A Dark Place in the Jungle, and two other novels, one written with her sceenwriter daughter, Esta. She has also been the editor of Brick, A Literary Journal. She lives in Toronto with Michael Ondaatje.

For more information, contact the English Department, 956-7619, or biograph@hawaii.edu

Event Sponsor
English, Manoa

More Information
Mark Heberle, 956-7619, heberle@hawaii.edu

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