Graduate, author to speak about boxing and manhood in Appalachia

Marshall University graduate Dr. Todd Snyder, now an author and an associate professor of rhetoric, writing and communication at Siena College in Albany, New York, will speak about his latest book, 12 Rounds in Lo’s Gym: Boxing and Manhood in Appalachia, from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 3, in the Shawkey Dining Room of the Memorial Student Center.

Snyder is a 2004 graduate of Marshall’s English education program and a 2006 graduate of its Master of Arts in English program. Along with teaching at Siena College, he has authored two books, The Rhetoric of Appalachian Identity and 12 Rounds in Lo’s Gym, published by West Virginia University Press.

This latest book is a memoir of growing up in Cowen, West Virginia, and explores themes of work and masculinity in rural Appalachia. More specifically, Snyder explores the parallels between life in Appalachia and what he learned growing up in his father’s makeshift boxing gyms, which often served as sanctuaries for young men living in poverty.

Snyder’s book is available in the Marshall University Bookstore, and he will sign copies in the bookstore from 4-5 p.m. before his reading on April 3.

The event is free and open to the Marshall community and the public.

For more information, contact Dr. Kelli Prejean, associate professor of English, by phone at 304-696-4015 or by e-mail at kelli.prejean@marshall.edu.