Antonya Nelson reads from her soon-to-be published short novel, “Funny Once” to students in the Honors College Commons. | Emily Chambers/The Daily Cougar
More than 90 people attended the first Honors College poetry and prose reading for the Spring 2012 semester, which was held in the Commons Wednesday.
The event featured creative writing faculty members Antonya Nelson and Robert Boswell, who are married and share the Cullen chair in creative writing at UH.
Nelson’s work has been featured in several literary magazines including Harper’s Magazine and The New Yorker. She read her soon-to-be published short story “Funny Once.”
She gave three pieces of advice to students interested in writing: read, take criticism and take advantage of classes.
Boswell, Guggenheim Fellowship winner and author of eleven books, read a chapter from his upcoming novel “Tumbledown”. He described it as “a serious novel with a lot of humor in it.”
“If you’re looking at the ruins of a place, that’s tumbledown,” Boswell said. “The point of view goes back and forth between counselors and their clients, and they have an intertwined storyline. It’s a big book — about 600 pages.”
Travus McBane, a computer science junior who stumbled upon the event, was impressed by the readings.
“The points of view of the main characters were relatable. They were people you could know in real life,” he said. “Both stories dealt with serious issues, but the comedy made them more bearable. It was like a break, so you didn’t have to be drowned by it all.”
This event series is a collaborative effort between the creative writing program and the library to help showcase faculty, graduate and undergraduate writing. The next reading will be composed entirely of undergraduates and takes place April 18.
