John Corcoran, head of the California-based Corcor an Foundation, which is dedicated to helping eradicate illiteracy, will speak at The Lexington School on Tuesday night.

His appearance is the first public event sponsored by the now-forming Kentucky Chapter of the International Dyslexia Association, a group that says it will advocate for victims of dyslexia and their families.

Corcoran completed high school and college — he played basketball at Texas Western — and later became a teacher and a successful businessman, all without ever learning to read. He says he learned to survive and even excel in the literate world by using various schemes and deceptions to hide his inability to read.

Corcoran describes himself as a victim of failed teaching strategies and an educational system that kept passing him along without identifying his problems.

Eventually, at age 48, he sought help and learned to read with the assistance of a literacy center.

Corcoran described his experiences in the book The Teacher Who Couldn't Read.

His program at The Lexington School begins at 7 p.m.

There is a $10 fee, which will be divided equally between the Corcoran Foundation and the new Kentucky dyslexia chapter.