04/23/12 ema

HAYS, Kan. -- The writing and publication of the book that made the Clutter family murders in Holcomb a part of America's cultural history will be the subject of a presentation in the Keith Sebelius Lecture Series at Fort Hays State University at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 26, in the Memorial Union's Stouffer Lounge.

The presentation, by the author of "Truman Capote and the Legacy of 'In Cold Blood,'" Dr. Ralph Voss, professor emeritus at theUniversity of Alabama, Gadsden, is sponsored by the FHSU Department of English.

Voss explores the legacy created by Capote's "In ColdBlood," about the killing of the Herbert Clutter family near Holcomb in1959, and the subsequent capture, trial and execution of Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, said Dr. Pamela Shaffer, professor English and director or the Composition and Writing Center at FHSU.

Voss will discuss the deep mark left on popular culture, in literature and other art forms.

"This topic should attract anyone with an interest in Kansas regional history, sociology, criminal justice, literature, journalism and psychology," said Shaffer.