Contributed/Center for Fiction

This Tuesday, literature and art lovers alike will be able to enjoy a visit from novelist Charles Baxter. Taking place at 3 p.m. on March 10, the author lecture is part of a collaboration between the Reece Museum and the Bert C. Bach Written Word Initiative. Baxter, an acclaimed novelist and short story writer known for his work “Feast of Love” as well as scholarly criticism, will share his experience alongside the museum exhibit inspired by his work.

The Reece Museum’s current exhibit, “Wonderlands,” features artifacts from the museum’s archives and photographs taken by Professor Tema Stauffer. The exhibit explores Appalachian identity and uses Baxter’s work as inspiration. The Reece Museum website states, “The title of the series draws inspiration from novelist Charles Baxter’s collection of essays about fiction writing, Wonderlands: Essays on the Life of Literature, in which he describes settings that reflect a heightened psychological atmosphere in specific literary works.” The atmosphere of Appalachia is explored through Stauffer’s photographs.

Jesse Graves, professor of English and director of the Bert C. Bach Written Word Initiative, shared his excitement about Baxter’s upcoming visit, especially in conjunction with Stauffer’s work.

“The intimate relationship between literature and art is very inherent and natural,” he said. “There’s something to be gained and understood by engaging with another work of art.”

Students from any major are encouraged to “engage” with the narrative and visual art, opening their minds to the region around them and the inspiration it carries.

“Charles Baxter is engaged in everyday life, in a way that everybody will find interesting,” Graves said.

Earlier, on March 10, Baxter, who has extensive teaching experience, will visit Mark Baumgartner’s fiction writing class.

“We get this opportunity for our students to hear directly from this master of the craft,” Graves said. “He’s known as a brilliant teacher.”

Additionally, during the event, Tema Stauffer will share how the exhibit came to be and the story behind her art. Atlas Books will be on site to offer copies of Baxter’s work. The event promises to be a place for students, professors and lovers of art to connect and learn.

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