On February 22nd, acclaimed writer George Saunders visited Boston College to grant his audience “A Reading from his Work.” Among his most famous books are the story collections Pastoralia, In Persuasion Nation, and CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, and the essay collection The Braindead Megaphone.
Additionally, Saunders writes often for Harper’s, McSweeney’s, The Guardian, The New Yorker, and GQ. Because of his outstanding ability to incorporate humor in his writing to produce unique, entertaining works, George Saunders was awarded a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” in 2006. Currently, he is a member of the Creative Writing program faculty at Syracuse University.
Before Saunders took to the podium, he was introduced by Christopher Boucher, a BC professor of Creative Writing. Not only did Boucher regard George Saunders as his “favorite living writer,” but he also revealed that Saunders was one of his favorite professors and mentors; Boucher studied with Saunders in the Creative Writing program at Syracuse.
After expressing his gratitude for the warm introduction and plentiful applause, Saunders asked with a smirk, “Is Boston College a laughing kind of place?” His humor was palpable in each of his eloquent phrases, illustrating his mastery of language as a tool for entertainment. The audience answered ‘yes,’ hungry for a funny story.
For about forty-five minutes, Saunders held the attention of the room full of faculty and students, reading animatedly a story about a man dealing with both matters of hilarity and those of melancholy. With his vibrant voice, quirky characters, and unpredictable storyline, Saunders excited and enlivened his audience.
Upon finishing his reading, Saunders addressed his editing process. He explained that he goes through each work about one hundred times until he succeeds in making it sound “natural.” According to the writer, each piece of writing has an “optimal version” that can be reached only through tedious editing.
Saunders also distinguished fictional stories from essays, divulging that, when writing fiction, he does not know “what’s going to happen,” whereas he knows what’s to happen in non-fiction pieces but needs to “cut through” his numerous notes to render the material entertaining.
Clearly, Boston College students and faculty alike enjoyed the insight that Saunders provided into the world of creative writing. Fiction writer and essayist, genius and comedian, George Saunders exemplifies the manifestation of pure literary talent.
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