Walking around downtown Asheville, you can find pieces of author Thomas Wolfe’s history, from his boyhood home on Market Street, which is now a museum, to the angel statue in Pack Square.
His first novel, “Look Homeward, Angel,” recounts the life of a young man born in western North Carolina, the son of a stonecutter and a woman who ran a boarding house. Set in Altamont — his fictionalized version of Asheville — the acclaimed novel is known to be largely autobiographical.
Wiley Cash ’00, UNC Asheville’s executive director of literary arts and curator of the Common Word, selected this book for the Spring 2025 Common Word Community Read as an act of love toward Asheville, which is still in recovery after storm Helene.
“How do we love a place? We love it by writing fiction or poetry or songs about it, and we love it by supporting it through organizations like UNC Asheville and BeLoved Asheville,” Cash said. “I hope you’ll spend the semester reading ‘Look Homeward, Angel’ and joining us in-person or virtually for these events so you can discover more reasons to love this place that so many of us have loved so well and for so long.”
All events will be held in the Manheimer Room of the OLLI Reuter Center and with live streaming available here.
“Thomas Wolfe at the Door: A Close Look at Asheville’s Famous Novelist” by Tom Hearron
Wednesday, February 19 at 7 p.m.
Tom Hearron will discuss how Thomas Wolfe transmuted his life in Asheville to fiction when writing his debut novel “Look Homeward, Angel.”
Hearron is the president of the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Advisory Committee. A well-published author, he has taught extensively at universities around the country.
Registration available here.
“Behind the Scenes at Dixieland” by Kayla Seay
Wednesday, March 19 at 7 p.m.
Kayla Seay, site manager at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial, will share the history of the Old Kentucky Home and take us behind the scenes of the house that Wolfe immortalized as “Dixieland” in his debut novel “Look Homeward, Angel.”
Registration available here.
“How the Magic Works: Breaking Down the Craft Elements in Look Homeward, Angel” by Wiley Cash
Wednesday, April 23 at 7 p.m.
Wiley Cash will discuss the writerly craft behind some of the most iconic scenes in Thomas Wolfe’s debut novel “Look Homeward, Angel.”
Cash is The New York Times bestselling author of four novels and the executive director of literary arts at UNC Asheville.
Registration available here.
About the Common Word Community Read
The Common Word Community Read brings the UNC Asheville community together each semester around a shared text to engage in a collective educational experience that features lectures and discussions in a welcoming and respectful environment. The program is curated by Wiley Cash, New York Times bestselling author, alumnus of the class of 2000, and UNC Asheville’s executive director of literary arts.