for 6th form students; duration ca. 70 minutes

Morton Rhue is the pen name of Todd Strasser, a prolific novelist for children and young adults. Strasser was born in New York City and he studied literature in college. He published his first book, „Angel Dust Blues", in 1978. Until 1990, he balanced writing with managing the fortune cookie company he founded. When „The Wave" was published in 1981, it became a huge success in Germany and was filmed in the 90s. His books for teens often address mature themes including bullying and school shootings and they both shock and move people as they offer a realistic insight into US society. In the epilogue of „No place, no home" (Ravensburger Verlag) he writes that „nearly a third of our people live on or below the breadline and the number of people unemployed or homeless is nearly as high as it was during the era of the Great Depression." This novel – from which Morton Rhue will read some passages – tells the story of an ordinary middle class family impoverished by unemployment, illness and debts. Dan Halprin is a successful baseball player at his school and dates a pretty girl from a wealthy family. Due to Dan´s parents´ unemployment and spell of bad luck the family is evicted from their home and for Dan and his parents life changes radically. The author will read from the novel and talk to his young readers (suitable for students from the age of 16 onwards) about his latest books and students are more than welcome to ask any questions concerning both his life and works.

Students attending the lecture should either have read one of Rhue´s novels or they should be familiar with the teaching material provided by Peter Fuschelberger from the Literaturhaus who is willing to assist teachers with their lesson plans. Monika Tretter-Eßl will introduce the author and will help if any communication problems between the author and the students arise.