Writer-in-Residence Spring 2005
Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of a novel, Stern Men, and a collection of short stories, Pilgrims, both of which were NY Times Notable Books. Pilgrims was also a PEN / Hemingway Award finalist and one of Glamour's Ten Best Books of the Year. Her short stories have been awarded a Pushcart Prize and the Aga Khan Prize and have appeared in places like Esquire, Paris Review and Ploughshares. Ms. Gilbert serves as a writer-at-large for GQ and her most recent book, The Last American Man, was a finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2003.
ENG 582: Special Topics in Writing: Location, Location, Location
This class will focus on the importance of place in literature. Using the work of Alice Munro, Dylan Thomas, Martin Amis, Tom Wolfe, Adam Johnson and Annie Proulx, among others, students will study how the setting of a story shapes and determines its characters and evolution. In addition to critical writing and discussion, students will also be working on their own fiction with special attention to creating vivid and believable settings for their work.
Praise for Pilgrims:
"The heroes of Pilgrims, Elizabeth Gilbert's gimmickless story collection, are everyday seekers . . . This first time writer has all the hallmarks of a great writer: sympathy, wit and an amazing ear for dialogue." --NY Times
Praise for Stern Men:
"Beautifully wrought and very funny . . . finding an Austen heroine in a lobster boat is one of its many delights" --Mirabella
Praise for The Last American Man:
"Gilbert has a jaunty, breathless style and she paints a complicated portrait of American maleness that is as original as it is surprising." --Publishers Weekly