Author speaks on war-torn Bosnia
Critically acclaimed novelist uses segregation from homeland as source of inspiration
By: Amy Swanson
Issue date: 2/9/06 Section: LifeStyle
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"Steve Lattimore, a fiction writing professor at Webster, had the idea of inviting Hemon and it was primarily just because we admired his work and I think that's always been the main criteria, is that the faculty admires the work of the people who are being brought in," Farish said. "It doesn't have anything to do so much with awards or prestige. It's mainly just an admiration for the work and I think the thing that has made it so successful is the faculty have an intuition about what kind of people will work in this kind of a series."
Senior Tracy Stump, an English and secondary education major attended the reading as part of her comedy and satire class.
"His work just incorporates so many important elements that are relevant today, not only in literature, but in every aspect of life," Stump said. "He takes literature, obviously, but also history and culture and really moving human experience and puts it all into one."
Freshman Eldin Jasarevic, an anthropology and religious studies major, was born in Bosnia and said he was compelled to hear Hemon share his own experiences.
"I figured I might want to see him speak, especially because he is Bosnian, and just see how an immigrant, or a minority, came from knowing nothing to being a very successful published author, which is not something that happens," Jasarevic said. "His work stands as a model, a way of showing people what really happened and introducing people to a completely new way without offending either side."
Farish said he hopes that students take advantage of the Visiting Writers Series in the future because it has received positive feedback, in addition to bringing in exemplary writers from across the country.
"I think it's good for students to see writers because students will often think that writers and that writing fiction or writing poetry is some kind of a mystical activity and when the writers come in and the students get a chance to talk with them and meet with them they can see that its not a mystical activity," Farish said. "It's a thing that human beings do who work hard and strive to write beautifully and our students can see that this is something that real people do."
Senior Tracy Stump, an English and secondary education major attended the reading as part of her comedy and satire class.
"His work just incorporates so many important elements that are relevant today, not only in literature, but in every aspect of life," Stump said. "He takes literature, obviously, but also history and culture and really moving human experience and puts it all into one."
Freshman Eldin Jasarevic, an anthropology and religious studies major, was born in Bosnia and said he was compelled to hear Hemon share his own experiences.
"I figured I might want to see him speak, especially because he is Bosnian, and just see how an immigrant, or a minority, came from knowing nothing to being a very successful published author, which is not something that happens," Jasarevic said. "His work stands as a model, a way of showing people what really happened and introducing people to a completely new way without offending either side."
Farish said he hopes that students take advantage of the Visiting Writers Series in the future because it has received positive feedback, in addition to bringing in exemplary writers from across the country.
"I think it's good for students to see writers because students will often think that writers and that writing fiction or writing poetry is some kind of a mystical activity and when the writers come in and the students get a chance to talk with them and meet with them they can see that its not a mystical activity," Farish said. "It's a thing that human beings do who work hard and strive to write beautifully and our students can see that this is something that real people do."
