Fiction author visits USD during D-Days

Brian Evenson, author and professor of literary arts at Brown University, visited the University of South Dakota on Oct. 2 to lead a craft talk as well as read from his own work.

Evenson has published fiction novels and short stories, as well as a few non-fiction pieces.

“From a very early age, I knew I was going to be a writer,” Evenson said.

With encouragement from his mother, who wrote some science fiction, Evenson started writing. His style jumps between genres like horror, science fiction and philosophy.

Evenson said he took writing classes as an undergrad, and became interested in philosophy in graduate school.

“Philosophy and theory had an impact on how I write and how think about the world,” Evenson said. “But I think first and foremost, I’m always going to be a writer.”

Evenson said he grew up a Mormon, which led him to attend Brigham Young – a Mormon university – where he received his bachelors degree. He received his Masters and Ph.D. at the University of Washington.

He then took his first teaching position at BYU, but left after a controversy over his first novel, “Altmann’s Tongue.”

“There was a student there, who was not in any of my classes, who for whatever reason read the book and ended up feeling like it was not sufficiently Mormon,” Evenson said. “So she wrote an anonymous letter to the Mormon church leaders complaining about it.”

The mormon church leaders then reached out to the chair of Evenson’s department to try and resolve the situation, Evenson added.

“So I ended up writing a defense saying here’s what I’m doing, why I’m doing it, and explaining that it’s difficult work but I think it has a a moral core to it,” he said.

Later, when Evenson followed up with the chair of his department, he learned that a letter had been sent out explaining that if he continued publishing writing like “Altmann’s Tongue” there would be repercussions.

“That was not something I understood, I understood that I was honestly defending my work,” he said. “So that became a moment where I really started pushing with this and kept on trying to publish this stuff, and it reached a point where I ended up leaving the university and the Mormon church.”

After leaving BYU, Evenson was hired full-time at Oklahoma State where he taught for four years. After those four years, he taught at the University of Denver.

Duncan Barlow, a USD English professor, got to know Evenson while working toward his masters degree at the University of Denver.

“I met Brian in grad school, and then I ended up becoming a fan of his writing,” Barlow said.

Barlow teaches Evenson’s writing in his English classes.

“I think he’s a very intentional writer,” Barlow said. “His prose is good for my students and it has a richly psychological subtext.”

Junior Kyle Hallberg, an English major, read Evenson’s “The Wavering Knife: Stories” for Barlow’s class.

“His writing is very mysterious,” Hallberg said. “He puts dark perspectives on everyday problems, they can be gory and disturbing, but they stick with you, and you find yourself thinking about it two weeks later.”

Hallberg said there were many stories in “The Wandering Knife: Stories” that she liked, and will remember for life. After reading Evenson in class, she said she was looking forward to attending the reading.

“Evenson’s writing really makes you see things in a different light and the structure makes you think,” Barlow said.

Evenson explained his writing process is mostly about focusing on the words he’s using, not focusing on only characters or only plot to create his story.

“I don’t separate everything out, I think of the writing process coming together like an organic thing,” Evenson said. “Like a person,  you can’t really live without a kidney or a heart. Well you can, it’s just more complicated.”

(Photo: Author Brian Evenson visited USD on Oct. 2 and spoke to students about creative writing. Tatum Dean / The Volante)