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English professor, Daniel Vilmure, read from his works-in-progress on Nov. 12, as part of the Core Humanities Program Birmingham Lunch Series. Faculty gathered to listen to passages from Dr. Vilmure’s novel, Keeper, and memoir, Lawrence of Suburbia.

The in-progress novel, Keeper, takes place in New Orleans and is about a young person who loves to read. An interesting dialogue about the nature of reading was sparked by a passage from the novel. For Vilmure, “Reading is a refuge from the world for individuals.”

The uncompleted memoir, Lawrence of Suburbia, reveals many of Vilmure’s experiences as a Fulbright scholar. He studied at the University of Jordan from 1999-2000. Lawrence of Suburbia explores Vilmure’s experience as an American living in the pre-September 11th Middle East. He read a passage about Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, in light of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Vilmure and faculty discussed the way a person’s sense of time changes when they are not eating.

This is Vilmure’s third year teaching in the English department. While he has always loved both teaching and writing, he said, “it is difficult to balance one’s writing and teaching, but every academic understands that.”

Dr. Vilmure was happy to be a part of the Birmingham Lunch Series, which was started six years ago and named for Robert Birmingham, a former chair of Villanova’s board of trustees and former chair of the Capital Campaign. The Core Humanities department hosts six lunches a year to showcase faculty members’ recent work and encourage faculty from different departments to come together.