Monday, February 01, 2010

A Rolling Stone magazine top 10 professor and Southern blues expert William Ferris will lecture and sign books at the University of North Carolina Wilmington 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 12. The event will be in the Fisher Student Center Wrightsville Beach room.

Ferris is the Joel R. Williamson Eminent Professor of History and senior associate director of the Center for the Study of the American South at UNC Chapel Hill. Speaking as a part of Black History Month, he will discuss his new book, Give My Poor Heart Ease. The public is invited to attend this event free of charge.

Ferris' new book documents his travels through his home state of Mississippi during the '60s and '70s and explores the diverse musical traditions that helped shape the true roots of the blues. Give My Poor Heart Ease incorporates interviews of more than 20 blues musicians and performers, including Willie Dixon and B. B. King, two of the most significant figures in blues history. The book package includes a CD of original music, a DVD of original film and photographs illustrating his journey, all inspired by Ferris' travels.

Ferris is the former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities and founding director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi where he taught for 18 years. He is coeditor of the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture and author of Blues from the Delta. Ferris received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania; he has taught at Yale University and Jackson State University.

This event is sponsored by the UNC Wilmington Upperman African American Cultural Center and the Watson School of Education.

Ferris will be available for interviews after 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 12 and immediately after the event by request.

Media Contact:
Joy Davis, UNCW Marketing and Communications, 910.916.8603 or davisjc@uncw.edu