Mon Feb 08 2010
by Laura Freeman
Reporter
Hudson -- As a boy in Nebraska without much to do, Dan Chaon wandered around, pretending and making up stories, and now he's an award winning author.
Dan Chaon, 45, of Cleveland Heights will speak about his newest book "Await Your Reply," which tells about the lives of three strangers that interconnect in unforeseen ways and with unexpected consequences from Ballantine Books.
Chaon will talk about his writing and read from his books 7 p.m. Nov. 11 in the Flood Family meeting room at the Hudson Library and Historical Society. After, he will sign books in the library's rotunda. The Learned Owl Book Shop will provide a variety of his books for sale.
Ellen Smith, head of reference and archives, said the Between the Line Book Club, which meets the second Monday of each month at the library, will discuss Chaon's 2001 book "Among the Missing" Nov. 9. The book was a finalist for the National Book Award.
"He's got a very compelling way of writing," Smith said. "I have a lot of questions to ask him."
Smith said the library is honored to have Chaon visit. "Await Your Reply" has been recommended by the Today Show and received positive reviews from major media outlets.
Dan is also the author of the 2004 novel "You Remind Me of Me." His short stories have won a Pushcart Prize, an O. Henry Award and an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Chaon has taught for 10 years at Oberlin College, where he is the Pauline M. Delaney Professor of Creative Writing and program co-director.
Chaon said there were not a lot of kids in the small Nebraska town where he grew up, so he had to use his imagination to entertain himself.
"That habit stuck," Chaon said.
He said he writes to capture the enjoyment of a child pretending or to experience a different place and a different life for awhile.
"Anyone who reads knows the feeling of disappearing into a book," Chaon said. "There's something about becoming a writer, trying to emulate that feeling of falling in love with a book."
Chaon said he published his first story as a senior in college but started sending his work out in junior high school.
"I was sending my work out a long time, maybe a little too early, and I was surprised to get a rejection letter," Chaon said.
His first book was published in 1996, and even though he had been writing for a long time, he said it took a lot of effort to put together a good book that was publishable.
"I have students who are ambitious, and I still tell them they have to be patient," Chaon said. "It takes a long time, even when you're really good."
Chaon said the themes in his book focus on finding an identity.
"Finding yourself is a big part of what I write about," Chaon said. "I'm interested in the ways we connect with other people and don't connect and why connection is important."
Chaon says his books focus on character development and the lives of the people rather than on plot devices, although there is a mystery at the heart of the book and a lot of suspense.
"I like the idea that my books give readers something to think about," Chaon said. "In a lot of my stories and novels there's a degree the reader has to participate and put things together themselves. There are things left open ended. If you enjoy puzzling about stuff, you're a good reader for me. If you like everything explained, maybe not."
Chaon said a lot of the process of writing a book is walking around in a daydream. He could be staring out a window or flipping through a comic book but still working.
"A lot of stuff happens in your head before you sit down to write," Chaon said.
The actual writing takes nine months to a year and half, he said. He uses a lot of notes and writes in longhand before putting it on computer.
"It's easy to delete stuff on a computer, and you don't know what you need," Chaon said. "The backspace can be really deadly. There's no way to recreate that sentence. You can't get it back in your mind."
The event at the library is free, and no registration is required.
For more information call 330-653-6658 ext. 1010 or e-mail askus@hudson.lib.oh.us.
E-mail: lfreeman@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3150
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