Dr. John Vanderslice, associate professor of creative writing at the University of Central Arkansas, will talk about his new book on KUAR鈥檚 radio program 鈥淎rts & Letters鈥� on March 17.
The 29-minute episode, 鈥淒ays On Fire: The Life and Work of Vincent Van Gogh鈥� will air at 7 p.m. and was produced for NPR-member station KUAR (89.1 FM). It explores the tumultuous days听of painter听Vincent Van Gogh from his early life in Holland听to his hospitalization听in St. Paul’s Asylum in Saint Remy.
During the show, Vanderslice and executive producer and host J. Bradley Minnick discuss Van Gogh’s many obsessions, including the painter’s relationships with听religion, women, family听and work.
鈥淭his episode will appeal to anyone ever inspired by Van Gogh’s fiery palette,鈥� Minnick said. 鈥淲riter听and professor John Vanderslice’s听inspired听fiction about Vincent Van Gogh paints pictures听of the places the artist听frequented, the听times in which he lived,听and is inspired by Van Gogh’s听faith that his work might resonate with those in the听future.鈥�
During the episode, Vanderslice reads and describes听a series of fictional听sketches in which the painter interacts with his siblings, confronts听his father, elicits help from his brother Theo, and observes and paints the world听outside his window at St. Paul’s Hospital.
Vanderslice writes: 鈥淪tretched across his bed, he stared at the squat window. Through the small square of glass, he saw the world outside like a landscape on the wall: the broad flat field that lay to the east and abutted a collection of winter bare trees, stoic and senseless. That’s how he would paint this place he saw from his cell window鈥攖his studio Peyron had allowed him鈥攅ven if these colors never really registered in his eyes.鈥�
Music听for the episode听is provided by Silas Hite and performed by Katie Abendroth,听Ethan Young, Open Fields, Starr Mitchell, R. Ring,听Rodney Block, Josiah Simpson, Brian Nahlen, Wil Vanderslice and Amy Jo Savannah.
Vanderslice teaches in UCA鈥檚 Creative Writing program. His short stories, essays, poems and one-act plays have been published in more than 80 journals and anthologies. His short story collection, 鈥淚sland Fog,鈥� was named by 鈥淟ibrary Journal鈥� as one of the Top 15 Indie Fiction titles of 2014. His historical novel, 鈥淭he Last Days of Oscar Wilde,鈥� is forthcoming in 2017 from Burlesque Press.
鈥淚 consider myself a careful, diligent and, most of all, patient writer, but 鈥楧ays on Fire鈥� pushed me to the limit of my sensibilities,鈥� Vanderslice said. 鈥淐onceived in 2001, my research did not begin in earnest until 2004, and then that research continued for four years before I began writing. Then the process of writing, revising, cutting, shaping and editing the book took almost five more years. I thought I had the final draft of the book several times before I did.鈥�听
For more information about the book, contact Vanderslice at 501-450-3653 or johnv@uca.edu.
Produced by Minnick and Christopher Hickey, 鈥淎rts & Letters鈥� is an educational radio show that strives to enlighten its audience and is dedicated to showcasing aspects of the humanities and literary arts in Arkansas and beyond.听This program was made possible through a grant from the听Arkansas听Humanities听Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities. After the broadcast on听March听17, the 鈥淎rts & Letters鈥� podcast can be accessed online at听artsandlettersradio.org, iTunes and the NPR Podcast page.
For more information, contact Hickey at 501-569-8485听or Minnick at jbminnick@ualr.edu.
The BT天堂College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Departments of Art, Music, and Film, Theatre and Creative Writing, as well as the School of Communication. The College鈥檚 primary mission is the preparation of the next generation of artists, educators and communicators. For more information about CFAC, visit www.uca.edu/cfac or call 鈥�501-450-3293.
