Jennifer Egan Opens ‘Starry Nights’ Author Series

On Oct. 30, Florida Atlantic’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute hosted the Starry Nights Author Series featuring acclaimed writer and journalist Jennifer Egan.

Rachel Luria, associate dean of Student Affairs and associate professor of rhetoric and composition at the Wilkes Honors College, facilitated the question-and-answer style session. The theme was making fiction out of mistakes, but curiosity was also an important topic interwoven in the conversation.

Egan described how the idea for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “A Visit from the Goon Squad” sprang from a moment in a New York City restaurant bathroom where she saw a purse full of cash left unattended. The moment reminded Egan of when she had been scammed by a purse thief, and she began to ponder the backstory of an imaginary woman who spirals into a life of kleptomania. 

“Fiction is the only narrative art form that puts yourself into someone else’s consciousness,” she said.

A persistent feeling of curiosity inspires Egan, and fiction is a mechanism for answering questions, she explained. She also likes to explore different genres, because she is interested in telling stories in different ways. The result of this constant exploration is that she hasn’t landed on a signature style like many of her peers, but she has a broad and diverse audience who found her as she dipped into their areas of interest.

Though Egan pointed to technology as a common thread throughout her disparate novels, she encouraged the audience to eschew being trapped by its ubiquity in modern life.

“Resist the temptations of current technology to take all your attention,” she said. “Create a habit of reading. It is almost rebellious to read at this moment.”

Prior to the public event, Egan held a special master class with students from the Wilkes Honors College. One of the hallmarks of the Starry Nights series is providing opportunities for undergraduates to learn directly from successful writers and gain insights on how to pursue literary careers.

Egan is the author of several award-winning novels and short story collections. In addition to her fiction writing, she is a frequent contributing journalist to publications including New York times Magazine and The New Yorker. Learn more about Jennifer Egan at www.jenniferegan.com.

The Starry Nights Author Series will continue in February with Jeanette Walls, author of the bestselling memoir “The Glass Castle” and other books.