Ernest J. Hill, author, professor and writer-in-residence spoke on Thursday, February 26 in the Nursing School Auditorium presented by the Southern University Literary Society.
“It is a pleasure to be here, although here is home,” Hill said.
Hill’s modest beginnings began in Oak Grove. He is the fourth of ten children with parents that taught him that education was of utmost importance.
Upon graduating from the University of California-Berkley with a degree in history, Hill ventured to Cornell University where he obtained his Master’s Degree in African-American Studies. He is currently working on his doctorate degree at the University of California-Los Angeles.
Hill’s works include Satisfied with Nothing, A Life for A Life, and Cry Me A River. His latest work, It’s All About the Moon When The Sun Ain’t Shinning is scheduled to be released this spring.
“I try to weave humor laughter and love in the stories. I pay tribute to my ancestors and individuals of my hometown,” said Hill. In Cry Me a River, I deal with an issue that is vitally important — the incarceration and execution of an innocent man.”
Hill’s second novel, A Life for A Life, will be produced into a motion picture in the near future.
A Life for A Life is about a young man, D-Ray, who murders a young clerk in a convenient store in rural Louisiana. Ultimately, it is the slain boy’s father, Henry Earl, that befriends the repressed young man.
The script for the movie was written by Art Washington, will be directed by Danny Glover and will star Morgan Freeman.
“I was assigned to read either A Life for A Life or Satisfied with Nothing for class,” said Alrica Joe, a freshman chemistry and chemical engineering major from Baton Rouge. “When I heard Mr. Hill, I had a heart felt appreciation for his characters.”
With advice for students, “The classroom is where we change our minds,” said Hill. “And never allow anyone to make you hate.”
