FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 10, 2007

South Georgia College
Contact:           J.R. Charles
                       912.389.4338 

SGC to host renowned historian/author Louise Staman 

South Georgia College will host writer and poet A. Louise Staman Monday, October 29, at 12:30 pm in the SGC library as she holds a book reading of her latest biography, Loosening Corsets.  

Loosening Corsets chronicles the life of Rebecca Latimer Felton during the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the early stages of World War I. Born into the destruction of the Plantation South, Felton’s life parallels the reformation of Georgia from the ashes of Sherman’s March.  

In an era when women were expected to follow the lead of men, Felton set herself apart from her Southern contemporaries by working for political and civil reforms. Although she had once been a Southern Belle, a loving wife and mother on a large cotton plantation, she began to step out of the traditions expected by southern chivalry and tradition.  

With her husband's encouragement, Felton became a politician 47 years before women got the right to vote. Despite one-party corruption, the K.K.K. and continuous racial violence, Felton pointed the way to a New South that stirred a nation. After a lifetime of activism, she became the first female Senator of the United States at the age of 87.  

Loosening Corsets is the recipient of several awards, including Eric Hoffer Award and the 2007 Independent Publisher Book Award.  

Author A. Louise Staman has been a writer, poet, and researcher for the majority of her life. She lives in Macon with her husband, Dr. E. Michael Staman. They have three married daughters and two grandchildren.

Cutline: A. Louise Staman

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About South Georgia College

South Georgia College (www.sgc.edu) was founded in 1906 and is a two-year institution in the University System of Georgia. Located in Douglas, Ga., the college's environment gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty.