One can spend the better part of a lifetime arguing over the specifics, motifs and intrinsic meaning of “high literature.” As a former student of English and Literature, I spent many a night, mouth agape, pouring over the words (are they?) of Finnegans Wake or contemplating underlying sexual symbolism in Romanticism. It’s just how I roll. But let not the high brow words and allegories of our forebearers turn us away from that most beautiful art of “the story.” Our lives are, after all, remembered as a series of well-told yarns woven together. A truly gifted writer can seamlessly marry all the beauty of language to a riveting story and sacrifice nothing. Novelist, John Burnham Schwartz, is a master of “the story”; his books have been translated into two dozen languages and resonate with the compelling voice of everyday people. Schwartz’s latest novel, Northwest Corner, tells the tale of the resilience of family in all the wayward and unexpected challenges of life. Schwartz will bring his words and stories alive in person this Thursday, October 13th at Carmichael’s Bookstore.
A winner of the Lyndhurst Foundation Award for mastery in the art of fiction, Schwartz has taught at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Harvard University and Sarah Lawrence College; he is currently literary director of the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference. Schwartz’s writing has made appearances in numerous publications, including the prestigious The New Yorker, as well as The New York Times. He is also the author of four previous novels: The Commoner, Claire Marvel, Bicycle Days and Reservation Road. Reservation Road was also produced as a motion picture based on Schwartz’s screenplay: Northwest Corner revisits the characters and narrative of Reservation Road, continuing the urgent and powerful story of a family confronting fierce struggle.
Join Schwartz at Carmichaels’ Frankfort Avenue location for an evening of interaction with Northwest Corner. Beginning at 7pm, Schwartz will read selections from Northwest Corner and pen signatures. Northwest Corner is available at Carmichael’s in hardcover for $26.00. Grab yourself a copy and spend a little time witnessing the lauded work of great storyteller unfold; fiction or non, stories are indeed, the narrative of our lives.
Carmichael’s Bookstore has two area locations: 1295 Bardstown Road and 2720 Frankfort Avenue
For more information, visit the John Burnham Schwartz event page or call the Frankfort Avenue store at 896-6950
Photo: Courtesy of Carmichael’s Bookstore website www.carmichaelsbookstore.com
