I just found out that Carolyn Chute will be teaching at the winter MFA residency. Which makes me very excited, since she is one of my very favorite writers. The Beans of Egypt, Maine was one of the first books I read that had people like I knew in it, and every time I go back to it I find something else to admire. There's a "complete" version out there that I haven't read yet but I'm excited to--I'm curious to see how she revised it.
Of course, I also loved Merry Men (haven't gotten to Snowman yet). Plus her thoughts about activism and the state of the world. She's a very interesting woman, and I so admire her unwillingness to compromise.
2 comments:
I have mixed feelings about Carolyn coming to Stonecoast. Like you, I'm a fan of The Beans of Egypt, Maine. It was a revelation for me in much the same way as for you. BUT. I'm not sure what kind of seminar presenter or workshop leader she'll be.
Carolyn did a reading when I was an undergrad at UMF. This was a while ago, 1992 or '93. She was comfortable in front of the large audience, but the reading quickly devolved into this thing where she just read out hate mail she'd received because of "Beans." Not all writers make good writing teachers. I just hope her approach had developed for the better over the years.
Very true... I had a very unsatisfying seminar experience this summer with another activist writer.
But I have been to writing workshops with Carolyn at the People's Free Space, and she did a good, if eccentric, job.
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