The 2013 Visiting Artist's Seminar:

This Blazing Thing:
Magical Realism in the Short Story

        Laura van den Berg

"Some people dream of being chased by Bigfoot." The first line of Laura van den Berg's collection of short stories, What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us (Dzanc 2009), leads into a series of worlds inhabited by monsters—both literal and metaphorical. Set in Scotland, Madagascar, Paris, the Congo, and Chicago, these tales invite readers on journeys of discovery. Now you are invited to create your own worlds, your own exotic tales, when you study fiction writing with Laura van den Berg in the Spring 2013 Visiting Artist's Seminar (UH 3200): The Blazing Thing: Magical Realism in the Short Story.

"In magical realism we find the transformation of the common and the everyday into the awesome and the unreal. It is predominantly an art of surprises" (Angel Flores). This surrealistic style tends to be elegantly crafted, poetic, and fantastic. It appeals to many readers and writers. Students enrolled in this seminar will study the style of magical realism via reading stories by contemporary masters—including Kelly Link, Angela Carter, Haruki Murakami, and Etgar Keret. Writing exercises and assignments will encourage students to experiment with new narrative techniques, expand their imaginative horizons, and explore, in the words of author Steven Millhauser, "the blazing thing that deserves the name of reality."

Laura van den Berg's collection of stories, What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us, was selected for the Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" Program, longlisted for The Story Prize, and shortlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Award. Her stories have appeared in Ploughshares, One Story, American Short Fiction, Conjunctions, The Southern Review, Best American Nonrequired Reading 2008, Best New American Voices 2010, and The Pushcart Prize XXIV. She earned her M.F.A. at Emerson College and is the recipient of the Emerging Writer Lectureship from Gettysburg College, the Tickner Fellowship from the Gilman School, and the Mary Wood Fellowship from Washington College. She has recently taught in the writing programs at George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University, Salem College, and Goucher College. She currently lives in Baltimore, where she is at work on a second collection of stories and a novel.

The Visiting Artist's Seminar will meet February 18-22, 2013 (MTWRF, 3-5:40 pm). This class is open to students from all majors who have earned GPAs of 3.25 or higher. Registration is through Pipeline. (If you have a time conflict, please contact the other professor, get written permission to miss his or her class, and then forward that permission, along with your M# and your request, to Ms. Kathy Davis, the Executive Aide in the University Honors College: Kathy.Davis@mtsu.edu.)

The course will include two public events: a reading by Laura van den Berg on Tuesday, February 19, at 4:30 pm (place TBA), and readings by the students on Friday, February 22, at 4:00 pm in the Honors Amphitheatre. A reception and book signing will follow the Friday readings.

The Visiting Artist's Seminar (UH 3200), an interdisciplinary Honors course taught by a professional artist, has been offered ten times so far, and has included such diverse topics as songwriting, filmmaking, papermaking, poetry writing, and performance art. While artists frequently visit campus to speak, the Visiting Artist's Seminar couples that inspirational experience with a hands-on component that lasts an entire week and requires intensive student participation. Students earn one credit hour, and grading is pass/fail.

Laura van den Berg's visit to MTSU is made possible by the generosity of the Distinguished Lectures Fund, the Virginia Peck Trust Fund, the University Honors College, and the English Department.

For more information, contact Dr. Claudia Barnett, Professor of English and Coordinator of the Visiting Artist's Seminar: claudia.barnett@mtsu.edu or 615-898-2887.