Film - Conversation - Book Signing
 

Join filmmaker, author, and NC State film studies professor Marsha Gordon at The Cary Theater on April 26 for the launch of her new book, Becoming the Ex-Wife: The Unconventional Life & Forgotten Writings of Ursula Parrott. The event will feature a special screening of the 1930 classic pre-code film, The Divorcee, followed by an intimate one-on-one conversation with Marsha Gordon and musician Tift Merritt.

Part biography, part cultural history, Becoming the Ex-Wife establishes Parrott’s rightful place in twentieth-century American culture, uncovering her neglected work and keen insights into American women’s lives during a period of immense social change. Although she was frequently dismissed as a “woman’s writer,” reading Parrott’s writing today makes it clear that she was a trenchant philosopher of modernity—her work was prescient, anticipating issues not widely raised until decades after her decline into obscurity. Parrott’s first book, Ex-Wife, became a best seller and was adapted by MGM as The Divorcee, starring Norma Shearer in a role that earned her an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

According to Pulitzer Prize–winning author Debby Applegate, “Ursula Parrott deserves to be celebrated alongside greats like Dawn Powell and Dorothy Parker. [Marsha Gordon’s biography is] a pleasure to read.”

Marsha’s book, Becoming the Ex-Wife: The Unconventional Life & Forgotten Writings of Ursula Parrott, will be available for purchase in the lobby of The Cary before and after the program courtesy of So & So Books.

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