Courtesy image.
Acclaimed author of New York Times bestselling novels The Covenant of Water and Cutting for Stone
SUMMARY
- Wed, Feb 21 | 7:30 p.m. | Arlington Theatre
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- Due to high demand, this event has moved from Campbell Hall to the Arlington Theatre
- Distinguished Stanford Professor of Medicine and National Humanities Medal recipient Verghese will join Pico Iyer for an evening of stimulating discussion
- The Covenant of Water, an instant NY Times Bestseller, was an Oprah’s Book Club pick in 2023
- Abraham Verghese and Pico Iyer will both sign copies of their recent books after the conversation
- $45 / $25 / $10 UCSB students (Current student ID required) (An Arlington facility fee will be added to each ticket price)
- Tickets & Info: www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu or call (805) 893-3535, or contact the Arlington Theatre www.arlingtontheatresb.com, (805) 963-9580
“One of the best books I’ve read in my entire life.” – Oprah Winfrey on The Covenant of Water
“Like Chekhov, Verghese is a doctor and is as authoritative about the workings of the human heart as he is of the human body.” The Sunday Telegraph (U.K.)
SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Abraham Verghese in conversation with Pico Iyer on Wednesday, February 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Arlington Theatre. Dr. Abraham Verghese’s instant New York Timesbestseller, The Covenant of Water, was released in May to widespread critical acclaim and was named an Oprah’s Book Club pick. One of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years, the book is the long-awaited follow-up to Verghese’s previous novel, Cutting for Stone, which topped the New York Times bestseller list for more than two years, is being adapted for film and was named one of Amazon’s 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime. A distinguished Stanford professor and a prominent voice in medicine, Verghese received the National Humanities Medal from President Obama. Following the conversation and Q&A, both Abraham Verghese and Pico Iyer will be available to sign their most recent books.
ABOUT DR. ABRAHAM VERGHESE
Abraham Verghese is a bestselling author and prominent voice in medicine with a uniquely humanistic view of the future of health care. He received the National Humanities Medal from President Obama “for reminding us that the patient is the center of the medical enterprise.” For 15 years, Verghese was Vice Chair for the Theory & Practice of Medicine at Stanford University.
Outside of health care, Verghese is best known as a phenomenally successful author. His first novel Cutting for Stonetopped the New York Times bestseller list for over two years, was translated into more than 20 languages and is being adapted for film by Anonymous Content. Amazon named it one of its 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime. In 2023 he published his long-awaited second novel, The Covenant of Water, which debuted as a New York Times bestseller, remained on the list for several weeks, and was the 101st pick for Oprah’s Book Club. Oprah Winfrey, who named the book among the top three she’s read in her life, was so taken by the story that she developed a six-part podcast series diving into the book’s themes through intimate conversations with Verghese. His memoirs include the award-winning My Own Country and The Tennis Partner.
Trained in infectious diseases and pulmonary medicine, Verghese has long been a top thinker in healthcare. His TED talk “A Doctor’s Touch” has been viewed almost two million times and is as meaningful now as the day he delivered it. He is co-host with Dr. Eric Topol of the Medicine and the Machine podcast and is a top thinker on how we utilize cutting-edge technology to advance medicine with a focus on the physical patient. This dual-pronged approach, incorporating both an appreciation of technological developments and a profound commitment to the sacred relationship between doctor/caregiver and patient, makes Verghese a leading voice in the discussion about what quality care means now and in the future. Verghese leads PRESENCE, a multidisciplinary center that studies the human experience of patients, physicians and caregivers. His warmth and vision as well as his world-class gifts as a storyteller make him a powerful speaker to both health-care professionals and the patient in all of us.
ABOUT PICO IYER
Pico Iyer is the author of 16 books, translated into 23 languages, and dealing with subjects ranging from the XIVth Dalai Lama to Islamic mysticism and from globalism to the Cuban Revolution. They include such long-running sellers as Video Night in Kathmandu, The Lady and the Monk, The Global Soul and The Art of Stillness. His latest, The Half Known Life: In Search of Paradise, has been a national bestseller, and he’s just completing his next work, on his first 32 years with a community of Benedictine monks in Big Sur. He has also written the introductions to more than 70 other books, the liner notes for many Leonard Cohen albums and Criterion Collection movies and a screenplay for Miramax. Since 1986 he has been a regular essayist for Time, The New York Times, Harper’s, The New York Review of Books and many others.
His four TED talks have received more than 11 million views, and he has been featured in program-length interviews with Oprah, Krista Tippett and Larry King, among others.
Born in Oxford, England in 1957, Iyer was a King’s Scholar at Eton and was awarded a Congratulatory Double First at Oxford, where he received the highest marks of any student on English Literature at the university. He received a second master’s degree at Harvard and was recently a Ferris Professor at Princeton.
ABOUT UCSB ARTS & LECTURES
Founded in 1959, UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) is the largest and most influential arts and lectures organization between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A&L annually presents more than a hundred public events, from critically acclaimed concerts and dance performances by world-renowned artists to talks by groundbreaking authors and film series at UCSB and Santa Barbara-area venues. With a mission to “educate, entertain and inspire,” A&L also oversees an outreach program that brings visiting artists and speakers into local classrooms and other venues for master classes, open rehearsals, discussions and more, serving K-12 students, college students and the general public.
Abraham Verghese in conversation with Pico Iyer is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures.
Speaking with Pico Series Sponsors: Martha Gabbert, Siri & Bob Marshall, and Laura & Kevin O’Connor
Tickets for Abraham Verghese in conversation with Pico Iyer are $45 / $25 / $10 UCSB Students (Current student ID required) (An Arlington facility fee will be added to each ticket price.)
For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or purchase online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu or contact the Arlington box office at (805) 963-4408 and AXS (https://www.axs.com/venues/2330/arlington-theatre-santa-barbara-tickets).
UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges our Community Partners the Natalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli for their generous support of the 2023-2024 season.