Posted by Sarah Diaz, GD Poetry Reader for 3.2 & former Poetry Editor for 3.1
Last week, the fiction writer Karin Lin-Greenberg visited campus to give a reading from her short story collection, talk with the senior creative writing majors, and spend some time with this semester’s managing editors of Gandy Dancer (Look for their interview with Karin in our next issue!). Karin is an assistant professor of English at Siena College and winner of the 2014 Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction for her collection Faulty Predictions, available at the campus bookstore, University of Georgia Press and Amazon.
Karin Lin-Greenberg
During All-College Hour on Wednesday afternoon in the Doty Tower room, Karin Lin-Greenberg read the shortest story from her collection, “Bread” and a newer piece, “Perspective for Artists,” which was recently accepted for publication in the Bellingham Review. She began her reading by talking about where her inspiration for fiction, especially short fiction, comes from. Her story, “Bread,” began with a newspaper article about a middle-aged man in the Midwest who manhandled baked goods in supermarkets, the activity of choice for her young protagonist, Lenny. She then disclosed that some stories come from real-life, like “Bread,” while others develop from a combination of observations and imagination; “Perspective for Artists” was written when Karin challenged herself to write a story in first person plural.
Karin’s reading was a pleasure—humorous and engaging. Afterward she was eager to answer any questions posed by students and faculty.
Then on Thursday afternoon, Karin spent some time with the senior seminar for creative writers. Karin opened up about her experience in college and graduate school and her journey from student of writing to teacher; she says she will answer with teacher, not writer, when people ask what she does, because it’s what pays the bills. Nevertheless, she encourages students with writing dreams to just keep writing, no matter where they may end up.