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Dissolving Stereotypes: The Visiting Writers Series
Ask around for a description of the typical writer, and chances are you'll get at least one romanticized conception. She's reclusive, quirky. Or he's full of mannerism and dresses entirely in black.
The men tend to have beards-like Hemingway, you know. The women have mysterious eyes and gloomy personalities, like Virginia Woolf. Surely, you'd know a writer-from an accountant, say-if you saw one.
I'm playing with stereotypes and cliches, because a visiting writers series tends to disrupt them. Oh, sure, many wear black, and some do have beards. But quite often, a reading can leave one thinking, "She looks like me, only she's written a few great books!" It's a refreshing experience, to see a stereotype dissolve before your eyes-which is at least part of the intent behind a visiting writers series.
It's become common practice for colleges with strong creative writing programs to host six to ten writers a year. Typically, a writer in the SLU Visiting Writers Series will read for about an hour, entertaining questions and signing books after. Some writers, such as Judith Ortiz Cofer, who came in October 2002, visit classes. Others run master workshops. Novelist Jane Hamilton held Q&A sessions for students concentrating in writing and those interested in her work. Some students had the opportunity to have dinner with multi-genre writer Ishan Abdul Rahiim. In less intimate settings, students can still interact with the author, asking questions about the decisions that shaped a book they've read for class. The audience also gets to hear the work in the author's original voice, which is invaluable in the case of writers whose work comes from, and explores, the experiences of a particular race or ethnicity.
The inspirational effects of meeting authors and hearing them read can be profound. Shawna Weeks '06, a student in my spring Techniques of Creative Nonfiction course, attended Jane Hamilton's reading in March 2003 and later wrote, "Being able to listen to [Hamilton] really helped me with my own (writing). It opened the door to my being able to put myself on the page." Whenever a writer visits campus, a startling truth emerges: literature is created by ordinary people who have something to say and the discipline to work hard at saying it beautifully.
Read Along With Us
In the past, SLU has hosted a rich melange of ethnicities and aesthetics:Richard Ford, Amiri Baraka, Joy Harjo, Edgwidge Danticat, Tobias Wolff, and Tim O'Brien, to name a few.
The 2003-2004 St. Lawrence Visiting Writers Series continues a tradition of bringing important writers to campus. We invite you to find the works of these writers in your library, and keep pace with readers on campus:
- September: Cathy Bao Bean and National Book Award Finalist Charles Baxter.
- October: Michael Steinberg l November: Robin Hemley
- December: John Daniel
- Spring: John Metcalf, Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill, Patricia Hampl, Anthony Kellman.
- Paul Graham '99 Visiting Assistant Professor of English
Caption: Among writers coming to St. Lawrence in 2002-03 was Ihsan Abdul-Rahiim, poet, fiction writer and playwright and the author of ibo landing, an offering of short stories.