September is drawing to a close, but for aspiring writers, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author Joy Williams’ visit to campus may be the opening of a new horizon.
At 8 p.m. on Monday Williams will read from her work in Dow A & B. The following night at the same time, she will give a lecture titled “Why I Write,” after which there will be a reception and book signing.
“I’m thrilled that a writer as gifted as Joy Williams has agreed to come to our little campus,” Professor of English John Somerville said. “I can’t wait for the chance to share her with Hillsdale.”
Somerville, who coordinated Williams’ event as part of the Visiting Writers Program, purchased a volume of her stories two years ago. He invited Williams after Mark Richard, a previous visiting writer, saw Somerville with the book and said he knew Williams, offering to put Somerville in contact with her.
Williams has written four novels, five short story collections, an essay collection, and a guide to the Florida Keys. Her stories are often darkly humorous and full of commentary on what she sees as bleak American life.
In a New York Times Magazine article titled “The Misanthropic Genius of Joy Williams,” Dan Kois wrote, “In Williams’s precise, unsparing, surprising prose, her characters reach for the sublime but often fall miserably to earth.”
Her event is the latest in a long line hosted by the Visiting Writers Program, which has been bringing wordsmiths of various genres to Hillsdale for many years. After Williams’ event, Dr. Somerville hopes to host another guest this fall and one in the spring.
For those interested in reading Williams’ work, some of her books will be available in the bookstore.