USCA Celebrates 25th-Anniversary Installment of the Oswald Distinguished Writer's Series With Special Guest, Author Pam Durban
Aiken, SC (11/01/2021) — The University of South Carolina Aiken (USCA) recently celebrated the 25th-anniversary installment of the Oswald Distinguished Writer's Series (Oswald Series) with special guest author Pam Durban.
"The 25th-anniversary installment of the Oswald Series was a resounding success," said Dr. Andrew Geyer, USCA Department of English chair and Oswald Series organizer.
An Aiken native and nationally acclaimed fiction writer, Durban gave a stirring reading of her short story "Soon" in front of a sizable crowd in the Etherredge Center main auditorium. "It was great to be back in Aiken today," Durban said. "I went and walked by my parents' house. It's just nice to touch this base again."
The reading followed a gala reception at which Dr. Dan Heimmermann, USCA chancellor, gave a short address on the history and importance of the Oswald Series. The chancellor's speech was followed by a champagne toast to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the series and to honor Wes Muckenfuss and Melissa Stroup, the nephew and niece of James and Mary Oswald, the couple who originally endowed the series. Since its inception, the Oswald Series has been dedicated to extending the learning experience beyond the classroom by providing, free of charge, public readings of important contemporary poetry and prose to USCA faculty and students, and members of the greater community.
Pam followed up with visits to four English classes, discussing her works and answering student questions. She also interacted with faculty in the Department of English. "All in all, we had a wonderful week," said Geyer.
Durban's publications include two collections of short stories, "All Set About with Fever Trees," and "Soon," and three novels, "The Laughing Place," "So Far Back," and "The Tree of Forgetfulness." Her short fiction has been widely anthologized and published in numerous literary journals, including "The Georgia Review," "Tri-Quarterly," "The Southern Review," "Crazyhorse," "Epoch," "The New Virginia Review," and "The Ohio Review," among others. She is the Doris Betts Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina.
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Durban, an Aiken native and nationally acclaimed fiction writer, gave a stirring reading of her short story "Soon" in front of a sizable crowd in the Etherredge Center main auditorium.
