Oscar-winning 'Garp' author John Irving inspires students
In the world according to John Irving, naked women parachute into dung-filled pig pens and a 2-year-old boy wanders into heavy traffic with unpredictable consequences.
The best-selling author and Academy Award-winning screenwriter shared the craft of his intricately plotted novels with students at Walnut Hill School yesterday and later read a chapter of his fictional work-in-progress to several hundred rapt audience members.
Irving spent most of the day with students and faculty at the prestigious private school as the third speaker in a yearlong Celebrity Artist Series that previously brought poet Derek Walcott and dancer Ethan Stiefel to Natick.
He is the author of 11 novels including "The Cider House Rules," "A Prayer for Owen Meany" and "The World According to Garp," which earned him international fame in 1978 with its quirky sexuality, labyrinthine plot and mixture of hilarity and foreboding.
Staff and students credited Irving for instructing and inspiring them with practical writing tips and sharing his passion for the narrative novels of writers he admires like Charles Dickens and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Faculty member Allan Reeder described Irving as "a master storyteller who rewrites and reworks the language."
Reeder, who teaches in the school's writing studio, was instrumental in bringing Irving to Walnut Hill. After graduating from Middlebury College, he worked as an editorial assistant for Irving from 1993 to 1994, helping him revise his novel "A Son of the Circus."
"John Irving is that very rare contemporary writer who is both invested in literary craftsmanship and commercially successful," he said yesterday afternoon. "He's a craftsman with language who knows how to make a narrative. His storytelling has wide appeal."
Addressing a schoolwide assembly, Irving discussed his 40-year career and offered students suggestions about constructing narratives and creating characters. He also read from the beginning of his unfinished novel, Reeder said.
"(Irving) gave an extraordinary talk about his work and his novels. He answered questions about reviews and his characters," said Reeder. "In addition to being a world-famous best selling author and screenwriter, John Irving is, as we've seen today, a remarkable teacher. I think what he said today will resonate for the rest of the year with our students."
After the assembly, Irving spent time with 15 students in the school's writing studio.
Though initially "a little star struck," sophomore Gabriella Fee said Irving impressed her by stressing "the importance of being attentive to your reader and your audience."
A writing major who admires poet Sylvia Plath and singer Bob Dylan, Fee said Irving emphasized that writing for a career demands "a lot of commitment to get into but can be personally very rewarding."
"(Irving) said we have to be aware of where we are as writers but also be aware of our readers. We need 'cold' readers who'll offer multiple perspectives. He emphasized we should't be close-minded about change," said the aspiring poet from Lincoln.
"(Irving) said something that really struck me. He said he'd never changed something and later wished he hadn't. He said he only regretted things he hadn't changed."
Junior Evan McWilliams said he was encouraged by Irving's belief novels perpetuate the importance of the printed word in a digital age of text messages and e-mails.
"(Irving) said he takes heart that print is very much alive and a lot of people still read," said the 17-year-old writing major from Scottsdale, Ariz., who moved to Natick with his family.
An admirer of novelist Edith Wharton, McWilliams said he hopes to write his own novel but needs to master the "technical skills" that Irving shared. "Writing is my passion. I hope someday to be a novelist," he said. "I know making it a profession is difficult. Most writers have day jobs."
"Except John Irving," interjected his friend and classmate "Gabby" Fee.
In a 90-minute evening presentation, Irving gave a spirited reading of the tenth chapter of his next novel about a cook and his son, tentatively titled "Last Night in Twisted River."
Relaxed and personable, the 65-year-old writer with a wrestler's sturdy build described himself as a plot-driven writer in the 19th-century vein of Thomas Hardy. He compared his reputation for frequent revision to the discipline he learned during 33 years wrestling and coaching wrestlers.
"You're fortunate if you find something you love. I don't get tired revising and rewriting the same chapter over and over," Irving told an audience of about 350. "It's not natural to be natural."