1 hr 19 min
Craft Talks at Saint Louis University: A Conversation with Fiction Writer Ron Austin Craft Talks
-
- Arts
Ron Austin is one of those rare writers that you know is going to be a powerhouse in the publishing industry one day, and that day may be very soon. His exceptional debut is a collection of short stories called Avery Colt is a Snake, A Thief, A Liar. I could not help comparing it to one of my favorite creative nonfiction memoirs, Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes. McCourt's autobiography that captures the Depression and World War II eras from a poor Irish child’s perspective in a way that keeps flipping the emotional switches between pathos, horror, and laugh-out-loud humor. I had the same reaction to the stories in Avery Colt is a Snake, A Thief, A Liar. Just as McCourt so successfully captured the unique voice and the internal feelings of the narrator and the way he observed the children and adult characters that cycled in and out of his life, Avery Colt’s narrative voice does the same thing, but this time from a poor Black kid’s experiences in North St. Louis. Ron Austin takes us in a deep dive into the stories and its incredibly vivid characters along with his fascinating perspectives on writing and teaching.
-Ted Ibur
Executive Director, St. Louis Literary Award Programs at Saint Louis University
Ron Austin is one of those rare writers that you know is going to be a powerhouse in the publishing industry one day, and that day may be very soon. His exceptional debut is a collection of short stories called Avery Colt is a Snake, A Thief, A Liar. I could not help comparing it to one of my favorite creative nonfiction memoirs, Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes. McCourt's autobiography that captures the Depression and World War II eras from a poor Irish child’s perspective in a way that keeps flipping the emotional switches between pathos, horror, and laugh-out-loud humor. I had the same reaction to the stories in Avery Colt is a Snake, A Thief, A Liar. Just as McCourt so successfully captured the unique voice and the internal feelings of the narrator and the way he observed the children and adult characters that cycled in and out of his life, Avery Colt’s narrative voice does the same thing, but this time from a poor Black kid’s experiences in North St. Louis. Ron Austin takes us in a deep dive into the stories and its incredibly vivid characters along with his fascinating perspectives on writing and teaching.
-Ted Ibur
Executive Director, St. Louis Literary Award Programs at Saint Louis University
1 hr 19 min