John OBrien, a 1967 West Virginia University English graduate, will return to his alma mater Tuesday, March 12, to read an excerpt from his first book, At Home in the Heart of Appalachia. The free public reading will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Gold Ballroom of the Mountainlair, with a reception and book signing to follow.

“John O’Brien has done something remarkable in At Home in the Heart of Appalachia., which is to reveal the conflicts at the heart of many West Virginians’feelings about their native state,”comments James Harms, Director of Creative Writing at WVU .”He has transformed his personal struggle to find an honest home for his hopes, beliefs and memories into prose that speaks directly to a larger public.”

“In lovely, sensitive frank prose, OBrien portrays a West Virginia beset by coal-mining tragedies and poverty, blessed with lush beauty and rich mountain culture,”said Publishers Weekly of OBriens work.

A recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, OBrien has held writing fellowships at the University of Iowa and Stanford University and his work has been published in Hudson Review, Massachusetts Review, TriQuarterly and others.

OBrien lives with his wife Becky in Franklin, W.Va.