Road Trip To Widener, A George Saunders Reading

At 5:30 in the morning Dr. Dent drove the university van right up to the doors of our dormitory, and six of us writing majors sequeezed in a for the three-hour drive to Widener University, where we would get to meet essayist and short story writer George Saunders.

Saunders, whose quirky stories frequently appear in magazines like The New Yorker, Harper's, and Esquire, recently appeared on the Tonight Show with David Letterman promoting his newest book, a collection of essays titled The Braindead Megaphone.

Widener University is located in Chester, Pennsylvania, about nine miles south of Center City Philadelphia. Susquehanna connected with Widener through FUSE, the Forum for Undergraduate Student Editors, a burgeoning network of student writers and editors who share ideas and review student-run literary magazines.

The faculty at Widener graciously invited Dr. Dent and some of her students to come to their campus for the Saunders reading. Emphasis on "graciously." Not only were we able to attend the reading, we were also able to sit in on a class discussion with Saunders and eat lunch with the author. The students and faculty from Widener were just wonderful.

As was Saunders. When we pulled into the parking lot at Widener, I wasn't sure what to expect. Saunder's work is so quirky and surreal, like "The 400-Pound CEO," which chronicles the rise and fall of an overweight employee at "Humane Raccoon Alternatives," or "Sea Oak," in which Aunt Bernie returns from the grave. As it turns out, the man behind these stories is warm and thoughtful and very smart about writing.

At the reading, he performed a story he published about two years ago in The New Yorker called "Victory Lap." I say "performed" because he did a different voice for every character. The story is excellent, hilarious all the way through and deeply meaningful at the end. Rather than spoil it by summarizing it here, I'm simply going to recommend that you read the story for yourself. The entire thing can be found on The New Yorker website.

After the reading, we got our books signed and then piled back in the van for the three-hour drive back to Selinsgrove, exhausted, but grateful to have made the trip.

Below are two videos. The first is a Widener video of the actual conversation we had with Saunders during our time in Chester. Below that is a video of a short reading Saunders gave for a Minnesota Public Radio event. The story is "Pastoralia," not "Victory Lap," but it's still definitely worth checking out. It'll give you a really great sense of his voice as a writer.

A Conversation with George Saunders at Widener University


George Saunders reading from "Pastoralia"


Other Links:
"Victory Lap" by George Saunders
George Saunders on David Letterman
The FUSE Blog
The FUSE Website
The Blue Route - Widener University's Online Literary Magazine