Dr. James Perkins, professor of English at Westminster College, will present Faculty Forum Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 11:30 a.m. in the McKelvey Campus Center Theater.

During Perkins presentation, "Short Stories: Some Old, Some New," he will read from his newly published book, "Snakes, Butterbeans and the Discovery of Electricity," and will sign copies, which can be purchased at the Westminster College Book Store. Perkins will also share other samples of his recent fiction writing.

The book explores the innocence of Four-eyes, a Kentucky boy who grew up in the 1940s. Through a series of stories about his family, his childhood pranks, and his vivid imagination, this nostalgic and funny book goes down the forgotten paths and pitfalls of childhood. In the fashion of the truest Southern storytellers, Perkins invites the reader to come in, stay awhile, and listen.

Perkins, who has been with Westminster since 1973, and earned his undergraduate degree from Centre College, his master's from Miami University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee. During the fall term of 1998, he was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at Seoul National University in Korea. Perkins is current chair of the Department of English and Public Relations. He has also been honored as a Henderson Lecturer and McCandless Fellow. His publications include three chapbooks of poetry, "For the Record: A Robert Drake Reader" (a collection edited with Randy Hendricks), and collections of short stories, and "Southern Writers at Centuries End," (a collection of essays co-edited with Jeffrey Folks).

Faculty forum, established in 1990, serves as a venue for the exchange of ideas and information among Westminster College faculty. Speakers present their research, teaching ideas, lectures, performances, special programs, and uses of technology to keep faculty informed about the work of colleagues from many disciplines.

For more information, contact Perkins at (724) 946-7347 or e-mail jperkins@westminster.edu.