Hermitage writer in residence Josip Novakovich, award-winning writer and creative writing professor will present two literary talks. At each, he will read from his work, as well as speak on creative writing from two different directions.
The readings and talks will take place on Friday, April 22, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Four Winds Café on the New College Campus and on Saturday, April 23, at Bookstore 1, 1359 Main Street in Sarasota beginning at 6:00 pm. Both events are free and open to the public.
On Friday at New College, Novakovich will speak about writing in English when it is not your first language. A significant fraction of contemporary writing in the United States is done in English by writers whose native language is not English–Ha Jin, Julia Alvarez, Andre Codrescu, Gary Shteyngart, and hundreds of others. He will talk about his own experience, writing in English rather than his native Croatian, and about editing an anthology by linguistic immigrants, and the issues involved in the phenomenon of linguistic migration in literature.
On Saturday, at Bookstore 1, the title of his talk is the DeConstruction of Construction.” Novakovich explains “Some stories grow spontaneously out of an idea or impression or a sentence, and some stories require deliberate architectural planning, to be assembled from ideas, research, and materials from various sources, such as old journals, newspapers, letters, interviews. In addition, to transcend the linear and obvious plot line, one might resort to a variety of permutations of what’s possible, as though playing a chess game. Permutation is the mother of invention.”
Josip Novakovich lived in Croatia until he was twenty. He is the author of the novel April Fool’s Day, which was translated into ten languages, three essay collections, three story collections, and two writing textbooks, including Fiction Writer’s Workshop, a Quality Paperback and Book of the Month Club selection. His work has been anthologized in Best American Poetry, The Pushcart Prize, and Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards. A recipient of the Whiting Writer’s Award, the Ingram Merrill Award, and an American Book Award, he has been a writing fellow of the New York Library and of the Black Mountain Institute in Las Vegas. Novakovich teaches in the creative writing program at Concordia University in Montreal. He has a new collection of essays, The Art
of Coughing, coming out later this year, and he has just completed a satirical novel, Russian Doubles.
“Josip plans to read a story set in the Yugoslav wars in November 1991, during the siege of Vukovar,” added Bruce Rodgers, executive director of the Hermitage Artist Retreat. “These evening presentations will be of interest not only to students of creative writing and literature, but also to those interested in current and recent history of the Balkans, political science and international relations. These are two opportunities to experience a fascinating evening with a recognized author and scholar.”
Josip Novakovich lived in Croatia until he was twenty. He is the author of the novel April Fool’s Day, which appeared in ten languages, three essay collections, three story collections, and two writing textbooks, such as Fiction Writer’s Workshop, a Quality Paperback and Book of the Month Club selection. His work has been anthologized in Best American Poetry, The Pushcart Prize, and Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards. A recipient of the Whiting Writer’s Award, the Ingram Merrill Award, and an American Book Award, he has been a writing fellow of the New York Library and of the Black Mountain Institute in Las Vegas. Novakovich teaches in the creative writing program at Concordia University in Montreal. He has a new collection of essays, The Art of Coughing, coming out later this year, and he has just completed a satirical novel, Russian Doubles.
The Hermitage is a not-for-profit artist retreat located at 6660 Manasota Key Road in Englewood. It brings mid-career painters, sculptors, writers, playwrights, poets, composers and other artists from all over the world for extended stays on its 8.5-acre campus. Each artist is asked to contribute two services to the community during their stay. So far, Hermitage artists have touched over 7,500 Gulf Coast community children and adults with their unique and inspiring programs. For more information about the literary workshops and readings, or to learn more about The Hermitage Artist Retreat, call 941-475-2098 or visit the website at www.HermitageArtistRetreat.org.