MEGAN MUNRO
Special to The Leader
On Nov. 3, the Mary Louise White Visiting Writers Series hosted its last visiting writer of the semester. Students were given the exciting opportunity of hearing from the novelist Matthew Salesses. Salesses received his Ph.D. in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Houston. He gave a very detailed craft talk, and then on Nov. 4, he gave a reading from his novel, “Disappear Doppelganger Disappear.”
During the craft talk, Salesses effortlessly discussed his writing style and revision process. He shared examples of how his real life experiences connected to his knowledge as a writer, and how his personal experiences helped him learn about writing.
Salesses shared an anecdote about how he was adopted from Korea. When he later returned to Korea, he turned the pages of a manga, or a graphic novel, from left to right, as we read books in the U.S., which is the opposite of how manga is read. His partner then informed him he was reading the book wrong. Salesses connected this experience to the way readers can often expect a story to go a certain way, and when an author denies the expectation of the story in the writing, the reader will defy that denial. They gather what they choose to acknowledge from the text, and that tip can be very useful for writers because it can be easy to forget about the perspective readers have of one’s story while writing it.
Kaitlyn Woodard, a student that attended Salesses’ craft talk, recommended that students interested in writing go to other craft talks in the future. “This access you have to professional authors is a valuable tool — whether it be that you’re a writer yourself or you just enjoy stories in general. Each person has their own perspective on what’s best for them and the only way to reach a place where you feel fully comfortable is to explore and be open to new ideas,” said Woodard.
Matthew Salesses’ craft talk and book reading was the last Mary Louise White Visiting Writer Series event for the semester, but these events will continue in the spring semester. The calendar of up-coming events hosted by the English Department can be found on the Fredonia English Department webpage under the “events” tab.