Joyce Carol Oates captivates crowd at Indiana Memorial Union on Monday

The Solarium of the Indiana Memorial Union had rarely been so full as crowd members ranging from teens to elders brushed shoulders to take their seats.

Extra chairs were brought in to fill the empty spaces as famed author Joyce Carol Oates took the podium.

Andrea Ciccarelli, the director of the College Arts and Humanities Institute, introduced
Oates, listing her works and accomplishments, from books and poems to literary criticisms and awards.

After Ciccarelli finished the extensive list and described Oates as “extraordinarily prolific,” the crowd received her with loud applause.

Ciccarelli asked Oates prepared questions regarding some of the themes and issues in her literary works including race, gender, class and historical subjects.

“If you are drawn to stories and personalities, you’re not thinking necessarily about themes,” Oates said, explaining how William Shakespeare would probably not be able to take an exam about themes of his own plays.

She said she addresses the aftermath of violence in her work, especially from a woman’s perspective.

“Men cause violence, and without the violence there wouldn’t be novels to write,” Oates said, laughing and throwing up her hands. She went on to say, “It’s just a joke.”

The crowd’s laughter was constant as she lectured and read from her novel “Wild Nights,” where a couple buys a replica version of Emily Dickinson that is powered by a computer.

The replica has the soul of the real Dickinson and is programmed to work in a new environment.

Oates also explained the tale behind her piece “On Boxing,” which reflected her past experiences as a young girl when her father would take her to the boxing rings.
In her description, she took readers back into the time when boxing was “glamorous” and “challenged the culture” of the 1950s.

Oates said she was skeptical about taking on a story based on the multi-million-dollar sport, which was originally pitched to her by an editor at The New York Times.

She said she originally thought she was asked to write about boxing because she was a woman and would look like a fool, but by accepting the challenge she learned more about herself as a feminist writer.

“If you take on a challenge or field that you can’t do, and make yourself do it ... it can turn into something wonderful and surprising,” Oates said.

Through “On Boxing” and her experience writing about boxer Mike Tyson, Oates said she learned about the art and ballet of boxing and the voice writers give to athletes.
“It takes a writer to really point out how good they are,” Oates said.

Oates also addressed her faith as a writer.

“Through our individual voices, through our regional voices, we speak to those who don’t know us,” she said.

She ended the evening by answering questions about her thoughts on global warming, the stifling economy and dying literary culture.

“It’s an extraordinary, revolutionary time and a great time to be alive,” Oates said. “We have a president who seems to actually be thinking.”

She also said she had no trouble making the transition to the online world of literature, which she said has forced the literary culture to become more precise.

The crowd was hesitant to leave at the end of the lecture, and dozens lined up to buy copies of select books such as “Black Girl White Girl” and “Expensive People.”  

“I thought she was stunning and mesmerizing as a storyteller,” Bloomington resident Julia DeBruicker said. “I was tickled to be in her presence.”