he Friends of the Sacramento State University Library continue their 2025/2026 Charles Martell Author Lecture Series with acclaimed journalist, critic, and professor Evelyn McDonnell, presenting her intimate and illuminating book The World According to Joan Didion.
A native Californian and longtime scholar of Didion’s work, McDonnell offers a vibrant and sensitive portrait of one of America’s most revered literary figures. The World According to Joan Didion is both a meditation on Didion’s life and legacy and a guide for creatives, journalists, and thinkers seeking to cultivate deep attention, rigorous inquiry, and elegant style.
Drawing from Didion’s published and unpublished writings, as well as interviews with those who knew her, McDonnell traces Didion’s journey from Sacramento to Manhattan, exploring the physical and emotional landscapes that shaped her prose. Organized around evocative motifs, Typewriter, Snake, Hotel, Notebook, this illustrated volume invites readers to see the world through Didion’s eyes and ask: What would Joan Didion have seen?
CHARLES MARTELL AUTHOR LECTURE SERIES – FALL 2025
Evelyn McDonnell, The World According to Joan Didion
DATE: Thursday, November 13, 2025
TIME: 1:00 – 2:00 PM
LOCATION: Zoom
REGISTER: https://bit.ly/46nxCjQ
Further information and interviews
- KIRKUS Reviews: “An appreciative portrait of an iconic author”
- Mechanics' Institute: Conversations for Writers
- California Review of Books: Review by George Yatchisin
This event will have subtitles, to request additional accommodations such as ASL interpretation, please contact lib-events@csus.edu at least ten (10) business days in advance of the event.
We look forward to seeing you.