MORGANTOWN — Ron Iannone, professor in the College of Education and Human Services and the founder of West Virginia Public Theatre (WVPT), has recently published two books. Besides this, he will come back to WVPT to help with fundraising and audience
development.
The first book, “School Ain’t No Way/Appalachian Conscientiousness,” is a story written several years ago by Iannone, about his attempts to offer a curriculum that was more humanistic and relevant to the lives of poorer and rural children than the regular school curriculum.
Specifically, an experimental program was designed and implemented for 34 middle-school-aged students. The results were shared in a daily journal format.
“All we have to look at today,” Iannone said, “is a sense of hopelessness among the young as they search among the opioid spectrum of drugs for a quick fix of happiness. They find very little meaning, interest and purpose in today’s schools.”
Iannone’s other book, “A Not So Normal Family,” takes place in Port Byron, N.Y. One of the major characters, Bo-Jean Franklin was a victim of a horrific act of violence when she was 12. Now several years later, she is twice divorced and sharing her two daughters with her ex, Larry Myers, who still longs for her.
Then there is Anna, her mother, with a vanishing memory, and Roberta and Stella, her two teen daughters struggling with being atypical in their own ways.
Now, as Jimmy Watkins, the man convicted for that violent attack many years ago is set to be released on parole, things come to a head for Bo-Jean and her family.
Overwhelmed, Bo-Jean uses bar-crawling and picking up sleazy men as distractions from Jimmy’s imminent release, her mother’s decline, Roberta’s identity and Stella’s fascination with guns and mass school shootings.
Both books are available at the Book Exchange or can be ordered online at amazon.com.
Finally, Iannone is going back to West Virginia Public Theatre. WVPT’s administrators came to him and asked if he could help them in bringing back past donors and
audiences.
“As long as I’m free to continue my philanthropic activities and continue to write, I would love to,”Iannon said.
“I miss all the people and especially the children with their glowing warm smiles as they attended the holiday shows.”
