ADVISORY/Author Gloria Naylor to Speak at Drexel University Today; Day-long Symposium to Examine Her Novels.

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What: Author Gloria Naylor, whose first novel, "The Women of
     Brewster Place," won the 1983 National Book Award and was
     made into a television movie and series by Oprah Winfrey,
     will attend "Affirming the Spirit," a day-long Drexel
     University symposium examining her literary works.

When: Friday, Oct. 30, 1998; 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Where: Drexel's Mandell Theater, 3220 Chestnut Street.

Symposium: The symposium will offer scholars the opportunity to
     present critical studies and analyses of various aspects of
     Naylor's works. Among the topics to be examined are: the
     construction of masculine and feminine identities in Naylor's
     novels, storytelling techniques employed in her works, aspects of
     the American dream as exhibited in the novels, and Naylor's use
     of metaphor in the narrative structure.

     Co-sponsored by Drexel's Institute for the Humanities, African
American Studies Program, and Commission on the Status of Women.

Highlights:

 --  3:30- 5 p.m. -- A public conversation with Naylor, conducted
     by Dr. V. P. Franklin, director of Drexel's African American
     Studies Program.

 --  5-6 p.m. -- Book signing by Naylor.