Novelist Ann Patchett visits as part of First Year Read Program

“Imagination is like a muscle, if you don’t use it, it will atrophy,” author Ann Patchett told more than 100 people in the SUB Simplot Ballroom on Nov. 17.

Patchett visited the university as part of New Student and Family Programs’ First Year Read Program.  In order to promote a sense of community and discussion, the program provides incoming first-year students with the same book to read in preparation for their first semester. Fall 2009 freshmen read Patchett’s 2007 novel, Run.

Run tells the story of a widowed Irish Boston-based politician, Bernard Doyle, and his two adopted African American sons, Teddy and Tip. In a 24-hour time span, events occur that drastically alter the family’s life.

“I certainly am obsessed with the idea of class and race because I think they are the underpinnings of this country…” Patchett said, referring to the novel’s overarching themes.

Patchett’s idea for Run came from a dream she had about God moving into her neighborhood and adopting two sons, one of which would become the new savior of the world. The novel took shape from the dream’s concept.

“It’s always the… thing that strikes the first match, not the thing that causes the whole bonfire…” she said.

Since 1992, Patchett has published five novels and two works of nonfiction. She rose to fame with the publication of 2001’s Bel Canto. The novel revolves around a group of terrorists who invade a dinner party, taking executives, civilians and an opera singer hostage. According to Patchett, Bel Canto is loosely based on the 1996 Lima Crisis, a Japanese embassy hostage crisis in Peru.

“With all of my books, I can pretty much go back and pinpoint the moment that I first got the idea,” she said.

In her talk Tuesday night, the Nashville-based author engaged the crowd with stories from her childhood, a recent family reunion in Mississippi, and her friendship with renowned opera singer, Renée Fleming. During her speech, Patchett emphasized the concept of practice in writing.

“You don’t put a piece of corn in the ground and expect to eat corn tomorrow,” she said.

Her trilogy of writing concepts- experience, muse and work- leads Patchett to discount the idea of writer’s block. Patchett said she continuously seeks out new information as she writes a novel instead of relying on her current knowledge.

“We think that art informs our life, but in fact it works both ways,” she said.

In addition to students, members of the community came to hear Patchett speak. Christine Simon, an elementary teacher, came with her book club who previously read Bel Canto. Her son, a freshman, read Run as part of the First Year Read Program.

Jill Hunt, a sophomore majoring in social work, came to the event without having read Patchett’s novels. Patchett’s discussion of Run inspired Hunt to read the novel.

Hunt plans on reading the book now

In a podcast with The Arbiter, Patchett offered suggestions for aspiring authors.

“My advice is volume; read everything,” she said. “…You should write a lot when you’re young.”

A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, New York Times best-seller and winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Patchett never doubted her calling as a author.

“It’s the one thing I’ve pursued my entire life,” she said.

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