WT’s Great Books to Continue Discussion Series on Amarillo Native Saunders

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — West Texas A&M University’s Great Books Series in February will continue a set of discussions about the works of Amarillo native George Saunders ahead of the author’s upcoming lecture at the University.

Dr. Alex Hunt, Regents Professor of English and WT’s Vincent-Haley Professor of Western Studies in the Department of English, Philosophy and Modern Languages, will lead the discussion of Saunders’ “CivilWarLand in Steep Decline” at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 13 in the Oak Room in the Commons Union Building on Amarillo College’s Washington Street campus; a Zoom option also is available.

The discussion series—sponsored by the EPML department in the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities—is open to those who either have or haven’t read the story, said organizer Dr. Daniel Bloom.

Hunt, who also serves as director of WT’s Center for the Study of the American West, said he thinks the story makes a good introduction to Saunders’ themes.

“It is set in a Civil War theme park, which is absurd, and the park is failing as a business. So it makes an interestingly layered commentary on American history and culture,” Hunt said. “It is also a study in representation, as we have a simulation—the theme park—inside a work of fiction—the story itself.

“This is typical of the kind of navigation that Saunders makes us think through,” Hunt continued. “In a sense, his work might be said to be always as much about art, and the role of art, as what the story is ostensibly ‘about’.”

Saunders, who was born in Amarillo and spent time as a master’s student in WT’s English program in the 1980s, will be the featured speaker for Amarillo College’s Creative Mind Lecture on April 4, to be co-presented by WT’s Distinguished Lecture Series and the Center for the Study of the American West’s Garry L. Nall Lecture in Western Studies.

The lecture will take place at 7 p.m. April 4 in Legacy Hall in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on WT’s Canyon campus.

Saunders is the author of a novel, five collections of short stories, a novella and a book of essays. His 2017 novel “Lincoln in the Bardo” won the Man Booker Prize. The recipient of a 2006 MacArthur Foundation Genius grant, his work appears regularly in the New Yorker, GQ and Harpers Magazine. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time Magazine in 2013.

Saunders’ work is the focus of a WT seminar to be taught this semester by Dr. Ryan Brooks, associate professor of English and codirector of graduate studies in English. Hunt also is incorporating Saunders’ work in his classes this semester.

WT professors and guest lecturers lead the monthly Great Books discussions.

The series began in 2011 and is traditionally held on the second Tuesday of the month.

For a link for the February Zoom discussion, email Bloom at dbloom@wtamu.edu.

The series is one way in which WT serves the region by offering engagement with a variety of literary and philosophical texts. Being a learner-centered university is a key principle of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised more than $150 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs and more than 40 graduate degrees, including two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

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