Short-story author speaks at Richmond

Amina Gautier, winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction, spoke in Keller Hall at 7 p.m. Wednesday as part of the University of Richmond's Writers Series. She has published 71 short stories, and her first book is a short-story collection entitled "At Risk."

She was introduced by Bertram Ashe, an Associate Professor of English, as a future winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and he said he was proud that someday Richmond would be able to say, "We knew her when."

Gautier finished her undergraduate degree at Stanford University and her masters and doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania. She started her degree with a heavy interest in Film Studies, but is now a scholar of 19th-century American literature.

Gautier read two of her short stories from her book, one entitled "Dance for Me" and the other entitled "Some Other Kind of Happiness." "Dance for Me" was the story of a young black girl attending an elite preparatory school in New York City on a scholarship and her push to fit in with her white classmates. The key ends up being a dance move, but in the end, the character realizes that no matter who she fits in with, she'll look back someday and not quite be able to understand who she was at the time.

The second story was also told from the view of a young black girl, but took place in Brooklyn. The story centers on the girl giving her diabetic grandmother insulin shots as she tries to live up to her mother's standards. The girl finds happiness in the Projects, but her mother sneers at them.

Gautier said she drew most of her inspiration for her stories from images, which stemmed from the fact that she had originally been a Film Studies major.

"I see stories through images," Gautier said. "Images allow me to subtly reference my fore bearers while, at the same time, creating my own metaphors and storylines."

Gautier said both of her stories had been told in the first person narrative, but the voices in the stories had still been very different. She encouraged young amateur writers not to hide behind the first person narrative, but to also explore other points of view and narratives.

"The best way to write a dialogue is to be a good listener," Gautier said. "Creative fiction writers eavesdrop; we listen to hear what people don't say."

Margot Hillyer, WC '14, attended the event for her "Women in Modern Literature" English class. She said that it had been incredibly beneficial to not only her own writing, but also to how she would have read and understood the assignment due for the class the next day--a short story by Gautier.

Students in the "Women in Modern Literature" and "Post-Soul Literature" classes were required to attend the event, but other students were also in attendance.

Gautier's books were on sale after the event, and there was also a reception afterwards to give students the chance to talk to Gautier.

Contact reporter Anika Kempe at anika.kempe@richmond.edu