The final events of the 2009-2010 Visiting Writers Series will take place on Monday, April 12 with fiction writer George Saunders. Saunders, a creative writing professor at Syracuse University, has authored three collections of short stories: Pastoralia, CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, and In Persuasion Nation. Both Pastoralia and CivilWarLand in Bad Decline were New York Times Notable Books, and In Persuasion Nation was a finalist for the STORY Prize for best short story collection of the year in 2006. In addition to these short story collections, Saunders has also written a fable entitled The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil and a children’s book, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip, which was a New York Times Bestseller. Saunders’s most recent work is a collection of essays called The Braindead Megaphone. More information about Saunders is available on Literature Online and OneFile PowerSearch.
Saunders will make three appearances while at Hope on April 12. At 10:30 a.m., WTHS 89.9 FM will interview Saunders. A question and answer session will take place in the Herrick Room of DeWitt at 3:00 p.m. that same day, and finally at 7:00 p.m. in the Knickerbocker Theatre, Saunders will read from his works.
— Bethany Stripp, Library Student Blogger