FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 21, 2001 CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119 AUTHOR TO DISCUSS CREATIVE NONFICTION IN SPEECH AT DRAKE UNIVERSITY APRIL 5 Author Lee Gutkind, a pioneer in the teaching of creative nonfiction and editor of the Creative Nonfiction journal, will read from his work and give a talk titled "Difficult Decisions" when he visits Drake University on Thursday, April 5. Gutkind's presentation, which is free and open to the public as part of Drake's Writers and Critics Series, will start at 2 p.m. in room 309 of Howard Hall, 25th Street and Carpenter Avenue. For more than 25 years, Gutkind has been publishing creative nonfiction, writing theory on the genre and editing anthologies of creative nonfiction writing. He is a professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh as well as an author of many books, including "The Veterinarian's Touch: Profiles of Life Among the Animals" (1998), "Stuck in Time: The Tragedy of Childhood Mental Illness" (1994) and "Many Sleepless Nights: The World of Organ Transplantation" (1990). Among his earlier books are "The Best Seat in Baseball, But You Have to Stand: The Game As Umpires See It" (1975), and "Bike Fever, An Examination of the Motorcycle Subculture" (1974). Gutkind's appearance at Drake is sponsored by the Drake English Department, the Drake Critical Studies of Culture Program and the Drake Center for the Humanities. For more information, call (515) 271-2853.