Book Talk: Changing My Mind
How a book about an American soup kitchen became a novel about an art crime
by Debra Spark
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June 1st, 15h-17h
Talk starts 15h30 (in English) Address: Atelier 11 Cité Falguière, 75015 Paris With a trio of important paintings missing, Discipline by Debra Spark, weaves together three narratives—all inspired by real people and historical events—that span almost a century. From an inhumane boarding school in the United States in the late 1970s to a contemporary art appraiser struggling with raising a teen to the long-lost love letters between a painter and his wife, Discipline is a literary mystery about family strife and devotion, ambition and authorship, and the power of art. This talk will be about how my ambition to write about a single meal at a soup kitchen in America eventually became a literary mystery novel about an art crime, family strife and devotion, and ambition and authorship. I'll focus on how two real life stories propelled me from a book I was stuck on to one I felt I could write. |
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The talk will be moderated by Malik Ameer Crumpler, a Paris-based writer & professor who will be in conversation with Debra about the new book and the craft of writing. They will invite audience members to talk about projects of their own (art or otherwise) that may have started as one thing but then became something else.
About the author
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Debra Spark is the award-winning author of seven books of fiction, including, most recently, the novels Discipline and Unknown Caller. She has also written two books of essays on fiction and edited/co-edited two anthologies.
A recipient of numerous international awards, Debra has participated in L'AiR Arts multidisciplinary arts research residency in January 2020 and is returning to present her latest book. Her novels and short stories have variously addressed romantic love, marriage, the mysteries of identity, art and deception, and contemporary anti-Semitism. Her nonfiction includes book reviews, articles on home and design, and essays about aging, parenthood, and grief. Debra Spark is the Zacamy Professor of English at Colby College and teaches in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. She lives in Maine. |