Stanford professor Mark McGurl, whose book The Program Era: Postwar Fiction and the Rise of Creative Writing made a splash when it came out in 2009 and was the subject of Louis Menand’s July New Yorker article, “Show or Tell”, will be giving a talk about creative writing programs at this year’s Arkansas Literary Festival.
Winner of the 2011 Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism, McGurl will discuss his book and trace the roots of creative writing instruction in the progressive education movement of the early 20th century, its influence on post-WWII American fiction, and the many complex ways authors have embraced and resisted their own institutionalization through the present day. A discussion about creative writing programs will follow, moderated by Stephanie Vanderslice, director of the new Arkansas Writers MFA Workshop at the University of Central Arkansas, which, along with UCA’s College of Fine Arts and Communication, is sponsoring McGurl’s visit.
This event will take place in Little Rock Saturday April 14 at 10:00 am on the 5th floor of the Main Library in the Lee Room. Copies of The Program Era will also be available for purchase.
For further information, contact Stephanie Vanderslice, stephv@uca.edu, 501-450-3340.
Tags: Arkansas Literary Festival, Mark McGurl, The Program Era
