A distinguished writer holds the ability to deliver her words with clarity, depth, and a full spectrum of emotions.
Prolific author, poet, and Princeton professor Joyce Carol Oates delivered just that to a packed audience Tuesday night in the Center for the Arts.
The UB Graduate Association, which funded the event, recruited Oates as a Distinguished Speaker following overwhelming requests by its members. In her hour-long speech, Oates described her journey from humble beginnings in Millersport, N.Y., a small town outside of Buffalo, to her present status as a world-renowned author of over eighty novels and volumes of poetry.
"When looking at the career of Joyce Carol Oates, two qualities immediately spring to mind, productivity and versatility," said Uday Sukhatme, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, in his opening speech.
Oates has a different reason for her writing tenacity.
"I attribute it to the fact there's not much to do in Millersport," she said.
Despite frequent sarcastic quips about growing up in Millersport, Oates said she drew an inspiration from her early life in a rural area with single-schoolhouse education. Oates's education evolved from that tiny schoolhouse to graduation with honors from the University at Wisconsin.
"Her speaking was full of witticisms. It was also wonderful to hear stuff about Buffalo," said Valerie Curry, a UB alumnus.
The author helped tie her past to the present by reading a reconstructed work that she first wrote in the 1960s entitled "Small Avalanches," that addressed a young woman's coming to terms with a stalker as well as her own strengths, according to Oates.
"She doesn't even realize what a sadistic experience she has," said Oates.
The audience remained silent and alert throughout the entire dissertation, listening intently.
"Her writing and story was so intense that sitting there was uncomfortable," said Curry.
Oates draws a similar line between the past and present content of her works.
"It's like collaborating with your younger self," Oates said about rewriting "Avalanches" at an older and wiser age. "What we had when we were young was a lot of energy, what's called chutzpah - unearned faith in oneself because you don't know how little you know."
Oates also offered the audience a glimpse of her work through two poems. "The Dollar Sign" addresses the issue of wealth and fame and is painted with aggressive masculine undertones, according to Oates. Her second poem, entitled "The Kite," addresses the enormity of success and fame.
"It's about celebrity in America and the fragility of success," she said.
Oates also discussed her rise and the reason for her success in the literary world.
"I think it has to do with dogged perseverance," she said.
Oates said she composes a lot of potential work in her head.
"I do a lot of writing in my head, when I'm running or walking," said Oates. "I think writing has to do with a discharging of nervous energy."
When questioned by an audience member about where she drew her sense of self, Oates replied that it was a collaboration of many factors in her life.
"I think we're very much a consequence of all factors," said Oates. "But especially in my work at Princeton, I see how encouragement can change and transform students."
The Western New York native establishes herself as a fluent and sustaining writer, according to Sukhatme.
"Her sustained productivity reminds me of a faucet out of which water is constantly flowing," he said.
