For Chicago native Stuart Dybek, UNC is more than just the location of his latest speaking event. It’s home to the Carolina Quarterly, one of the first publishers of his work.
Many years, books and awards later, Dybek is back at UNC to discuss his work as part of the creative writing program’s Living Writers series.
The series is part of a class in which authors visit the classroom, have lunch with students and hold a public discussion.
Dybek has written three fiction books and two collections of poetry. His most popular works include “The Coast of Chicago” and “I Sailed With Magellan.”
Dybek said he believes that fiction and poetry are not all that separate.
“I know people make a big distinction between them,” he said.
“But from childhood that hasn’t been true for me, and they kind of overlap in my mind and reinforce each other.”
He said he has found inspiration in his hometown of Chicago, and many of his writings come from neighborhoods he grew up in.
For students wishing to pursue a writing career, his standard advice is to read.
“If you’re going to want to play an instrument, paint, make photographs, dance professionally, whatever the art is, you have to dedicate yourself to learning the craft of it,” Dybek said, adding that the same is true for the craft of writing.
Pam Durban, professor of the class, said she chose the authors in the series for their variety and because she admired their work.
“I wanted the class to be able to see many different styles and approaches to writing fiction,” she said.
The visiting authors read to a public audience, and the audience is given a chance to ask questions after the reading is finished.
“Every reading I see people who are not students, so it’s worth going out and getting there,” Durban said.
While the readings are directed at students, everyone is encouraged to attend.
The Living Writers program has been well-received by both faculty members and students alike.
Maria Devlin, a student in the class, said the class provides a unique experience.
“The writers, both in the interviews we read and the discussions they have with us in class, offer us their own distinct and comprehensive theories about writing … specific, technical analyses of how successful stories work,” Devlin said in an e-mail.
The next author in the series is Andrea Barrett, who will be visiting on Nov. 5.
Attend the event
Time: 5:30 p.m. today
Location: Dialectic Hall, top floor of New West Hall
Info: www.college.unc.edu/features
Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
