Washington Irving, a traveler and diplomat as well as a writer, would be pleased to know that writers who are former Peace Corps volunteers are sharing their current work with you at his beloved Sunnyside. Many Peace Corps volunteers have written about their experiences, and quite a few went on to become professional writers. To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Peace Corps, John Coyne has organized readings by some of the very best throughout the country, and this reading features two stars of the group.

Her first novel, Green Fires (1994), is set in Ecuador where Ms. Mueller served from '63-'65. The Climate of the Country (1999) takes place in the Tule Lake Japanese American Segregation Camp in Northern California where her father, a pacifist, and her mother, a teacher, were working during World War II. Ms. Mueller was the first non-Japanese born in the camp. Her work was a New York Times Book Review "New and Noteworthy in Paperback" pick in 1999 and a recipient of various awards including a 1995 American Book Award (Before Columbus Foundation). Her novels have been published in Germany and Italy. Ms. Mueller's new novel, My Mother's Island (due out in 2002), is set in a small community in Puerto Rico. It tells of a daughter's reluctant but dutiful journey of reconciliation with her dying mother.

Born and raised in the San Francisco area, Norman Rush went to prison as a conscientious objector during the Korean War. After graduating from Swarthmore College in 1956, Rush worked as an antiquarian book dealer and college teacher and published poetry (Chelsea) and fiction (Massachusetts Review, Paris Review, New Yorker). From '79-'83, Rush and his wife, Elsa, were the Peace Corps' first co-directors, serving in Botswana. During those years and on two subsequent trips, Rush traveled widely in Africa, visiting Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland, Togo, and the Ivory Coast. From those experiences came the story collection, Whites (1986), and Mating, the 1991 National Book Award winner for fiction. A third book in his Botswana trilogy, a novel, will appear soon.

Introductions by JOHN COYNE

A former Peace Corps with the the first group of volunteers to Ethiopia ('62-'64), Mr. Coyne has written and edited 21 books, most recently Living On the Edge: Fiction by Peace Corps Writers. He is the founding editor of http://PeaceCorpsWriters.org, which is devoted to the writings of former Peace Corps volunteers. He lives in Pelham Manor, NY, and is the Manager of Communications for The College of New Rochelle.

PeaceCorpsWriters.org is staging this series of readings thanks to a grant from the Florence and John Schumann Foundation.

Grounds open at 6 pm, with tours available of Irving’s home beginning at 6:30. A reception for the writers will be held from 7 to 8.

Admission $8; $5 for members of Historic Hudson Valley or The Hudson Valley Writers’ Center. Reservations are suggested and may be made by calling (914) 631-8200, ext. 618.

Sunnyside, the historic home of Washington Irving, is located one mile south of the Tappan Zee Bridge on Route 9 in Tarrytown (turn west on West Sunnyside Lane.)

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