Prof. Jon Pineda (College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia): "Makeshift Images: Writing the American South"

Monday, June 12, 2:15-3:45 p.m., KR12/02.18

Prof. Pineda read from his latest novel Let’s No One Get Hurt (published by FSG/Farrar, Straus and Giroux), “a coming-of-age story set equally between real-world issues of race and socioeconomics, and a magical, Huck Finn-esque universe of community and exploration.” He also discussed contemporary American fiction, in the context of writing about the American South, and the challenges many writers face when creating narratives at the intersection of disparate literal and figurative landscapes comprising the region.

Jon Pineda is Associate Professor of English at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia and is the author of six award-winning books: three poetry collections, two novels, and a memoir. His latest novel Let’s No One Get Hurt received the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction. His other work has appeared in numerous literary magazines and anthologies, including the New York Times Magazine, Shenandoah, and Sierra Club. He teaches advanced creative writing workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction at W&M, and is a core faculty member in the MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina and in their Latin Am MFA program in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. (Homepage)