Writer’s reading packs Baber Room

• Tweet
• 

Visiting fiction writer Kelcey Parker insisted although her work may be poetic, she does not write poetry.

About 80 people attended Parker’s reading from 8 to 9 p.m. Thursday in the Charles V. Park Library’s Baber Room.
Parker read “What my Lips have Kissed and Where, and Why” and “Mermaids” from her new collection of stories “For Sale By Owner,” winner of the 2011 Next Generation Indie Award in Short Fiction. Parker will release a novella in 2013.

After the reading, Parker took questions from the audience.

“I was so excited. I bought her book and loaned a friend money to buy a book,” said Mount Pleasant senior Lee Szelag. “It was a wonderfully poetic form of fiction.”
Parker is the director of the creative writing program at Indiana University South Bend. She said it was nice to hear from students other than her own and it was good for students to get a fresh perspective.

“My students don’t ask me questions about things like how I became a writer, and so I sometimes forget that students have those questions,” Parker said. “I enjoy talking about those kinds of things with students.”

Darrin Doyle, associate professor of English language and literature, orchestrated the event and said he was happy with the turnout.

“I was happy with it. You never know for sure how many people will come, but this was a success,” Doyle said. “I look for someone with a unique voice and style and she has it.”

Doyle and Parker agreed there were many good questions from the audience.

“This was an amazing evening and an amazing crowd,” Parker said. “There was a great line of interesting people with terrific questions. The venue was great, too. It was so cozy and it fit everybody that came.”

Parker said she taught high school for a time before quitting her job to become a writer and attend graduate school, where she met Doyle.

“Thanks to everybody,” she said. “Darrin Doyle put a lot of work to make this happen and the English Department has been terrific and all the guys in the creative writing department have been great.”

Doyle said he had heard one of the stories Parker read when they were in graduate school and it was nice to see how it had come along to be a polished, published piece.

“I really enjoyed it. There were lots of very good questions,” said Auburn junior Tonya Allen. “It was very inspiring how she answered the questions. I feel like she really went in depth and tried to inspire people.”