Morris among authors at Aug. 5 event

SHARON — Pulitzer Prize-winning author (and Kent resident) Edmund Morris will be among more than two dozen authors taking part in the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon’s 15th annual Summer Book Signing benefit on Friday, Aug. 5, from 6 to 8 p.m. Morris, who was born in Kenya, is best known for his biographies of American presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. His newest work, “Colonel Roosevelt,” is part of a trilogy of works on the 26th president of the U.S. The first book in the series, “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt,” published in 1979, earned him the Pulitzer. This is his first appearance at the Sharon booksigning. In an interview last week with The Lakeville Journal, he said he wasn’t really sure how he became interested in writing biographies.He was an advertising copywriter in London until he emigrated to the United States in 1968. “I’ve always been interested in the human character,” the 71-year-old author said. “As a teenager in boarding school, I gravitated toward biographies in the school library. I was particularly interested in music and I wanted to find out all about the lives of the great composers.”He eventually wrote a biography of Ludwig van Beethoven — but not until 2005. The author said he has written in every genre except fiction. He has written articles, criticism, poetry, advertising and, as he said, “God knows what else.” When asked if he enjoys writing criticism, Morris responded, “Any type of writing is a luxury for me. That is what I am, a writer.”Morris was Ronald Reagan’s official biographer. In 1999, he published “Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan,” which caused considerable controversy in the publishing and political worlds as well as with the general public. The author wrote “Dutch” as though it were fiction rather than as straight biography. Morris has said he chose this approach because, despite his complete access to the former president and all his personal writings, he was never able to bring the subject into focus, “He was someone I could never figure out.”When asked how he felt about the “Dutch” controversy, Morris said, “It was no surprise at all, I knew it would be controversial. I frankly enjoyed all the controversy.“I felt I had done something original that nobody had ever done before and I felt, and still feel, that it was a substantial and honest book and I rather enjoyed shaking up the journalistic and academic establishments.”Morris said he has a contract with Random House now to write a “big biography” of Thomas Edison. He anticipated that it will take three years to write. “I find Edison’s character endlessly interesting,” he said, adding that, “To be able to write about a man who spent his life doing practical experimentation will be fascinating.”When reminded that Edison was involved with the invention of the electric chair as a tool of capital punishment, Morris recalled that as part of that effort, Edison conducted an experiment in the early 20th-century where an elephant was electrocuted — and he made a short movie of the effort. “Which is pretty horrifying to watch,” the author commented.Also in the works: Next year Random House will publish an anthology of his articles and criticisms, and then “I think that will be it for me as far as journalism goes.”Morris will sign copies of “Colonel Roosevelt” and his two earlier books about the 26th president of the United States at the 15th Annual Sharon Summer Book Signing Friday, Aug. 5, from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission is $25, payable at the door. The author will return to the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon on Saturday, Sept. 17, at 4 p.m., to give an informal lecture about his epic three-part biography; admission to that event is free. Call 860-364-5041 or visit www.hotchkisslibrary.org for details.