Last Thursday, Oct. 28, Hammond native James Wilcox returned to his hometown to read from his well known novel “Modern Baptists” as a part of Fanfare’s “Louisiana Connection” reading series.

Prior to beginning his reading, Wilcox talked to the audience about the ways various childhood experiences played an important part in the development of his writing career. One of the experiences he talked about was the role music played and how his cello lessons at Southeastern made him a great player and eventually landed him a scholarship to join the symphony at Yale.

For the reading, Wilcox read from the first chapter of “Modern Baptist,” and he followed the reading by answering audience questions.

“I think the answers the author gave were informative because he told the audience about how several unrelated experiences gave him the ideas needed to begin writing,” said Chardy King, a junior finance major.

Wilcox has written nine novels that feature characters from the fictional town of Tula Springs, La. His first book, “Modern Baptists,” was released in 1983 and received national acclaim. In 2002, the novel was included in the magazine GQ’s 45th anniversary issue as one of the best works of fiction in the past 45 years. Pulitzer prize winning author Toni Morrison listed the book as one of her favorite works among unsung writers in U.S. News and World Report.

In 1986, he was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship in the category of creative arts and fiction. Currently, he is a professor and the creative writing director in Louisiana State University’s department of English.  Since arriving there in 2004, he has been recognized as the 2008 Distinguished Research Master of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and holds the MacCurdy Distinguished Professorship in English.

Southeastern is a place Wilcox is familiar with. His father, James H. Wilcox Sr., served as the dean of the College of Humanities. Also, he succeeded Dr. Ralph Pottle as the head of the department of music. Wilcox is responsible for enlarging Pottle Hall by adding the music annex.

For Wilcox, the evening was something that meant a lot to him.

“It feels like a homecoming because my earliest memories are of Hammond and Southeastern,” said Wilcox.