Author Ethan Canin to speak at Oberlin Public Library

Author returns to hometown to vocalize the magic of prose writing

Watch out, Oberlin, Ethan Canin - a.k.a. "Doctor, Author, Hunk All Rolled Into One" - comes to the Oberlin Public Library this Sunday. Author of two stunning collections of short stories, Emperor of the Air and The Palace Thief, Canin's luminous prose and powerful manipulation of the banal has long placed him on the fiction map. Canin's most recent novel, For Kings and Planets, is, according to The New York Times, "fulfilling the rich promise of his first two collections."

Before graduating from Harvard Medical School, Canin had established himself as "a writer of tremendous talent, the real thing and guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of brilliance." While holding internships at San Francisco General and local VA hospitals - a working week of 80 to 115 hours - Canin's writing, for obvious reasons, had to be put on hold. A five-year pause between Harvard and the San Francisco residencies provided enough time for his first novel, Blue River, and The Palace Thief. Canin's life has been constantly divided between two very demanding careers.

He is currently on faculty in the creative writing program at the University of Iowa, and will present to Oberlin a talk entitled: "What I Know About Writing So Far." Judging from his past, "So Far" should be impressive.

Raised by a violinist once on faculty at Oberlin Conservatory, Canin will be returning to his childhood romping ground. The author's visit is part of The Jeanne Beattie Butts Public Speakers Series. The series was established in honor of Jeanne Beattie Butts, an inspiring citizen of the Oberlin community and founder of projects such as an Underground Railroad Quilt.

Copies of For Kings and Planets will be available after the talk for purchase and autograph, courtesy of the Co-op Bookstore.

Canin will be speaking at the Oberlin Public Library at 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 1.

Doctor, author, hunk?: Author Ethan Canin comes to the Oberlin Public Library to speak on his recent writings. (photo courtesy of Random House Publishing)