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George Saunders: 2013 Will Hays, Jr., Visiting Writer

a man standing at a podium

George Saunders during a reading from Tenth of December, Nov. 4, 2013, in Korb Classroom in the Wabash College Fine Arts Center.

a man with a beard and mustache standing at a podium

“Genuine entertainment means finding some artificial way to find some semblance of a human being and projecting it onto a page. That’s the trick. It’s not an easy thing to do.” -- George Saunders

a man standing at a podium

“Everyday life is completely full of plot because you are in it. I want to make human beings that you lean in to…”

a man writing on a book

“I like non-fiction. It looks like you, but I feel there is a ceiling there. I don’t know that fiction is me, but fiction allows me to find out what I believe. The moment you write yourself out of your preconceptions is fantastic.”

a group of people sitting at a table

George Saunders (left) speaks to a student following his reading from Tenth of December, Nov. 4, 2013, in Korb Classroom in the Wabash College Fine Arts Center. Tradebook manager Judy Wynne is pictured at right.

a man shaking hands with another man

“If you work in fiction for a long time, you are trying to figure out your tools or tricks. Once you find that out, it can be the end of you as a writer.”

a man sitting at a table with a tray of food

George Saunders talks with advanced creative writing students during a lunch at the Sparks Center, Nov. 5, 2013. Scotty Cameron '14 is pictured at right.

a man writing on a paper

Creative writing major David Myles '14 takes notes during a talk with author George Saunders during a lunch at the Sparks Center, Nov. 5, 2013.

a man sitting at a table with a tray of food

“There is a gene is us that, as middle-aged guys, we want to be the boss. We just have it. The only antidote to that is to have your doors blown off every now and again. A way to do that is to go out into the world and see things anew.”

a group of people sitting at a table

George Saunders (right) talks with advanced creative writing students during a lunch at the Sparks Center, Nov. 5, 2013. From left (near to far) are Nikolas Jones '14, associate professor of english Eric Freeze and David Myles '14.

a man sitting at a table

“The things you need in your writing career you will develop those in thousands of hours of working on the page. How do you manage to put in the necessary time?”

a man sitting in a chair with his hands raised

“When I was a kid an MFA was a freaky thing to do. It was like joining the circus. It gave you the right sense of proportion to actually having a book out…For the people who are going to write there are two great misconceptions. First, if you want to be a writer, you have to get an MFA. Second, having an MFA automatically makes you a writer.”

a man with a beard and glasses

“The trick is for me to keep my eye on entertaining. The story is always talking to you; you have to be listening. The story will tell you where it should go. You have to listen to it.”

a man sitting at a desk

Lucas Zromkoski '15 smiles during a talk by author George Saunders at Wabash College in an introductory creative writing course in Center Hall, Nov. 5, 2013.

a man sitting in a room with a man talking

“I think one of the most powerful phrases out there is ‘on the other hand.’ You’ll say what you have to say and believe it to the fullest, and then you’ll say, ‘on the other hand.’”

a man sitting at a desk writing on a notepad

Ryan Horner '15 takes notes during a talk featuring author George Saunders in an introductory creative writing course in Center Hall, Nov. 5, 2013.

a man sitting in a chair

“If you start with the assumption that everyone is good at the core, people will respond and appreciate it.”


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