Alumnus Byers' Reading Conveys Richness and Depth

To a creative writing student at Oberlin, the story of alumnus Michael Byers inspires hope. With list of achievements that far exceeds what one would expect of a writer his age, Byers has won the praise of critics across the country and established himself as a young writer to watch. Introduced by Creative Writing professor Sylvia Watanabe as a writer who can "do what we want fiction to do by taking us out of our own lives," Byers proceeded to do just that, reading selections from his first short-story collection, The Coast of Good Intentions, that were incredibly rich and profound.

"It is weird to be back here, strange and wonderful at the same time," Byers said, as he addressed the full house Tuesday night in King 106. He only allowed the audience to shar the wonderful side, opening with a very charming series of anecdotes of his experiences as a student here less than a decade ago that connected him instantly with the students in attendance.

"When you inhabit a place for four years it becomes a land of the memory, and when you finally go back it is like walking through your own head, your own memories," Byers said. And with this said he took those in attendance on a very similar walk, opening with a section of a story published in Ploushares titled "The Beautiful Days" that was centered in his memories of being a student here. Returning to read this story in the actual landscape it captures was an ideal way to open the reading, inviting student audience members to share a glimpse of Byers' memories of his time at Oberlin. Rich with details of his experiences at "a small college in the middle of a corn field," Byers' selection from "The Beautiful Days" gave a small taste of the presentation of honest and deeply emotional work that was to follow.

With "The Levirate," Byers displayed a dynamic emotional range that is one of the reasons for his success. Before reading Byers explained that "levirate" has a biblical origin, as a term used for a man who takes on the wife of a deceased brother. With the employment of the same clever use of language present in his stories, Byers used the ancient word as the title of a story with very contemporary themes. Though "The Leviratet" comprised a relatively small portion of the reading in terms of length, it presented a post-passionate situation between a man and his brother's wife in a way that was both humorous and moving. Starting with the sentence, "When it comes to the possibility of sleeping with his brother's wife, George Norgand jumps at the chance," and ending with the brilliant view of a city during a power outage, "The Laveret" went a very long way in a very short time.

By Closing the evening with the final selection from The Coast of Good Intentions titled "Dirigibles," Byers was able to use the stories longer length to stretch out and display the lyricism that has been key in establishing his importance amongst young writers. Author Charles Baxter once noted the "shadowy obsessive passions" in Byers' work and this obsession could not have been more apparent than it was in "Dirigibles." Drawing on his ability to portray detailed emotional and physical landscapes, the story ended the evening with a very quiet moment of joyful reflection.

If Byers' return to Oberlin inspired students who pine for his kind of success as a writer, it also seemed to inspire the author, who filled the large hall with his very intimate and warming performance. For young writers, Byers' success makes him a role model, but more important than the obvious critical achievements are those of his actual stories, which clearly "take us out of our own lives" with the energy and life they posses. It is this possession that will make Byers' work everlasting.

Beautiful Days: Michael Byers (OC '91) read from his debut book, The Coast of Good Intentions, at King on Tuesday. (photo by Christine Braunohler)