A Hard and Heavy Thing by Matthew J. Hefti
All Stories

Carthage welcomes author Matthew J. Hefti on Friday, Nov. 4, for a presentation connected to the First Year Read for 2016-2017, Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson.

Mr. Hefti is the author of the 2016 novel A Hard and Heavy Thing, recently chosen as a Great Group Reads Selection for National Reading Group Month by the Women’s National Book Association.

He spent 12 years as an explosive ordnance disposal technician, deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan four times. While enlisted, he earned a bachelor of arts degree in English and an M.F.A. in fiction. He is now in his final year at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he has participated in the Criminal Appeals Project, the Public Defender Project, and the Wisconsin Innocence Project. In addition, he has contributed to the anthologies See Me for Who I Am (Hudson Whitman), MFA vs. NYC (n+1), Retire the Colors (Hudson Whitman), and The Road Ahead: Stories of the Forever War (Pegasus). He has been published in Electric Literature; Vol. 1 Brooklyn; Literary Hub; and War, Literature and the Arts.

Mr. Hefti’s presentation is titled “Seek Justice, Love Mercy.” The talk begins at 11:45 a.m. in the Campbell Student Union. Mr. Hefti, who has met Bryan Stevenson and is very familiar with his work, will provide students with insights into the work being done to help free the wrongly convicted and seek redress for those who are serving excessive sentences.

The 30-minute presentation will be followed by 30 minutes of questions and answers.

All are welcome; the event is free.

Matthew J. Hefti is the author of ?A Hard and Heavy Thing.?