LSUS professor writes award-winning novel 11/13/01

LSU in Shreveport English Professor Dorie LaRue’s new novel, “Resurrecting Virgil,” was an award winner even before it was released. The book, published by Backwaters Press, won the 2001 Omaha Prize, given annually for an unpublished novel.

“The books aren’t quite in Barnes & Noble,” LaRue said Monday. “They are out, but I haven’t even received my copies yet.” The novel, however, is expected to hit bookstore shelves soon. Barnes & Noble Booksellers, in the Bayou Walk Shopping Center at Youree Drive and 70th Street, has scheduled a book signing for LaRue on Saturday, Dec. 15, from 3 to 6 p.m.

“Resurrecting Virgil” is set in a modern-day North Louisiana town. It focuses on the journey of Virgil Matthews, a shy, dreamy young man, away from alienation and toward love and an understanding of his own mortality.

“Virgil has spent his 20-some years studying and admiring ancient funeral customs of the world,” LaRue said in giving a glimpse of the novel’s plot. “He gets the shock of his life, however, when he realizes his funeral-director employer has a mercenary side.”

As an apprentice, Virgil clashes with an unforgettable cast of southern characters in the dark, comedic tradition of John Kennedy Toole and Fanny Flagg.

LaRue, who teachers creative writing at LSUS, was graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. While at ULL, she studied creative writing with Earnest Gaines, the internationally known author of “A Diary of Miss Jane Pittman,” and many other novels. LaRue will teach her creative writing course in the spring 2002 semester.

For winning the Omaha Prize, judged by Mark Spencer, LaRue received $1,000.