“When you read, you are taking back your mind and when you write, you are using your words and your voice.”
Author Deb Olin Unferth shared that message as the inaugural Vane Visiting Writer in Sundin Music Hall Oct. 1 part of the Vane Creative Artist Series, a new series bringing writers and literary artists to Hamline. The event, “Reading and Writing When the World Seems Lost,” featured a conversation between Unferth, author of "Barn 8” and “Earth 7” and Hamline alumnus Patrick Cottrell '04, author of “Afternoon Hours of a Hermit” and “Sorry to Disrupt the Peace.”
Cottrell, who now teaches at the University of Denver, studied at Hamline from 2002-2004 under Mike Reynolds, professor of English and chair of the humanities, and other faculty members. He said his experience at Hamline influenced his career path.
The Vane Creative Artist Series was created through a fund established by George T. Vane LHD (hon.) '15, Hamline emeritus professor of English, to support literature and drama at Hamline University.
During opening remarks, Reynolds remembered Vane as someone who cared deeply about writers, history and community.
“With the Vane Creative Artist Series fund, we bring writers and literary artists on campus to empower us all on the shared work of literary citizenship,” Reynolds said.
During the conversation, Unferth discussed how her environmental concerns helped shape “Earth 7,” a novel about humanity’s relationship with the planet. She said her research into technologies intended to address climate change initially left her feeling discouraged by their potential environmental impact. Her research eventually led her to sand, which offered a different way of thinking about the future.
“Sand exists in our space, sand is on other planets and it floats around in the sky, in the universe,” Unferth said. “Then it creates life and it comes out of the ocean and it becomes us and we make our whole civilization out of sand.”
That sense of wonder became an important part of her novel, which uses science fiction to explore questions about the environment, humanity, love and mortality.
Unferth also discussed the relationship between the main characters in her book, Dylan and Melanie, and how physical connection becomes part of Dylan’s journey toward trusting another person.
The conversation turned to reading and writing in a world that is quickly being shaped by technology. Unferth described reading as a way to reclaim her attention and connect with another person across “time and space.”
“I have a chair that I have chosen in my house that a phone never goes near, no computer goes near it,” Unferth said. “I get into the chair and I just know this is my me time.”
After the conversation, Unferth read a passage from “Earth 7” in which Dylan begins to recognize that Melanie, whom she originally believed to be a robot, is actually human after noticing a small physical imperfection on one of her toes.
Unferth then answered questions from the audience about “Earth 7,” her writing process and the themes in her novel.
Watch the full conversation here. Details about the next Vane Creative Artist Series will be announced at a later date.