Dec. 9 marked the fall installment of the Saint Mary’s English Department’s Visiting Writers Series of 2024. Jill Christman, an author and professor at Ball State University, visited Saint Mary’s Monday night for a reading and signing of her book “If This Were Fiction: A Love Story in Essays.”
The night began at 6 p.m. with attendees speaking to peers, professors and Christman herself prior to the reading. Light refreshments and appetizers were provided for guests.
“We always hope that the visiting writers can connect with our students who are here majoring in creative writing, but also more broadly to speak to them about what it means to live a life in the arts and what it means to write,” professor Rebecca Lehmann, coordinator of the series, said.
As attendees settled into their seats, Christman read from her essays accompanied by a slideshow presentation. An array of creatures flashed on screen. From sloth to vampire bat to an “Ohio bat,” Christman paired her anecdotes to her many adventures with animals.
When questioned about her inspiration for “If This Were Fiction: A Love Story in Essays,” Christman said, “I didn’t want to just put a bunch of essays between two covers. So when I started to think about it, I realized that the book overall was kind of a love story, first to my fiance who I lost in a car accident, to my husband and my kids, and mostly to myself.”
Alongside her book, Christman read from her newest essay “Spinning Webs in Space.” The room was filled with laughter at her anecdotes and retelling of her childhood.
Throughout the night Christman gave advice from her experience as a writer.
“I’ve been writing essays for nearly 20 years now,” Christman said. “I have two objectives for my students that I hope that they will learn and they are: stay curious and pay close attention. When you bring these two things to your writing, you cannot go wrong.”
She referenced the difficulty of maintaining a persistent work ethic when writing.
“You don’t feel like you’re going to write the book that day, right? Just think in terms of this one frame. What am I going to write? I’m going to write this thing I’m looking at, I’m going to look at the palm of my hand. I’m going to describe it for five minutes. So that’s another thing that I would do is like, think small and then those things accumulate. And then begin to see the connections between them. And then before you know it, you’re writing.” Christman said.
After the event, attendees gave their reviews.
“I’m such a fan of her work, actually,” Lehmann said about Christman. “I love the way that her essays bring the real world into bigger contemplations of what it means to be a person today.”
“I really liked it. I came with a completely open mind,” said Catherine Whittier, a senior at Saint Mary’s. “I liked how fun [Christman] was and personable and entertaining. She made me laugh and it makes me want to buy her book and read it and see what more she has to say because it was so interesting.”
