J. Paul Hunter, professor emeritus at the University of Chicago and professor of English at the University of Virginia, will present a free public lecture, "Some Reasons for Rhyme," on May 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History, located on the UNLV campus.

Hunter's lecture will provide a portrait of the inter-relationship of literature with the broader "culture" or history of England.

Hunter is the author or editor of eight highly acclaimed books, mostly dealing with 18 th century British literature. He has held both Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships. Additionally, he is the senior editor of "The Norton Introduction to Literature," one of the most influential college textbooks in the United States.

Hunter will conclude the evening's event with a question and answer period.

J. Paul Hunter is the first visitor fully funded by the new Department of English Distinguished Scholar Lecture Series. Funding for the lectures was provided by an anonymous donor and will allow UNLV's English Department to bring to Las Vegas several of the most distinguished literary scholars in the world.

UNLV's Department of English Distinguished Scholar Lectures are free and open to the public. Next year's guests will include Bendedict Nightingale, the chief theater critic of The London Times and perhaps the most powerful theater critic in the world; professor Stephen Greenblatt of Harvard University, the author of the recent Shakespeare biography "Will in the World" and one of the most highly regarded scholars in the United States.