In an effort to close a successful fall season, The River City Writers Series will host its final event tonight with a reading and presentation by Richard Bausch, nationally recognized author and holder of the Moss Chair of Excellence in The U of M English department.
"I haven't yet decided what I will be reading from. It will either be an essay on memory and a short story, or just a short story," Bausch said. "There are several pieces that I'm considering, but I probably won't decide until dinner just before the night's reading."
The event will be at 8 p.m. in The University Center Faulkner Lounge and will close a semester that has seen such acclaimed writers as poet Mark Jarman, novelist Kalie Jones (author of "A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries") and Jill McCorkle.
"Our events aim to be part of the intellectual and cultural life of The University and the community," said John Bensko, associate professor in the English department and director of The River City Writers Series. "These events are free and open to all students and the public. We offer unparalleled chances for close interaction with the best creative minds around."
Bausch is the author of nine novels and five short story collections, including "The Last Good Time," "Violence, The Selected Stories of Richard Bausch," and "Take Me Back," which was nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award. His stories have also appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, Harper's and The New Yorker.
"Having an internationally known writer such as Mr. Bausch permanently at The University will help advance our writing program from being small and regional to being among the first tier of nationally recognized programs," Bensko said. "His hiring here is an unbelievable opportunity for The University and for Memphis. We have already begun to receive inquiries and applications from much more highly qualified candidates for our MFA degree."
Bausch is also the recipient of the Lily Wallace-Reader's Digest Writer's Award, the Award in Literature from the Academy of Arts and Letters. He is the previous Chair of creative writing at George Mason University and now holds the Moss Chair of Excellence in English here at The University of Memphis.
"I feel very fortunate and glad to hold this position with The University of Memphis," Bausch said. "I also feel a sense of a good challenge because the idea is that I can help an already excellent program get more support and more of the reputation it deserves."
Bausch has a number of ideas the department hopes to put into effect soon, including creating a summer writing abroad program and the establishing a Mid-South Center for Writers, which will be a permanently funded program to bring nationally and internationally known writers to campus. He also plans to offer a yearly, free fiction workshop taught by faculty and offered to non-students; the first of which he will teach in the spring of 2006.
"This is a workshop meant to reach out to the surrounding community," Bausch said. "There are talented writers in Memphis who may not have the money to pay for college. This way, I can reach those people and give them some help in becoming the writers they hope to be."
Those interested in participating in this workshop must submit a manuscript no longer than 15 pages by Jan. 1, 2006. Bausch will choose 10 people from those submissions to make up his class.
"I'm looking for promise and talent," Bausch said. "I will select the most talented of the entries - though that does not mean that all talented people will get in. There are only 10 spots, and I'm sure that many talented writers who want a space won't get in. That's why we will conduct this workshop every spring from now on."
The course will meet every Monday for 14 weeks in the spring of 2006 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
"This will be a terrific experience for anyone to learn from this outstanding writer," said Cary Holladay, assistant professor in the English department. "I'm using some of his stories in my fiction class right now to teach students, and he is just so great."
Bausch will read from his collections tonight at 8 p.m. in the Faulkner Lounge of The University Center.
