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Thursday, March 29, 2001
Literary series brings author Tracy Kidder
Event organizers hope the readings continue to help readers connect with renowned authors
By Brendan Walsh
Caller-Times
For 14 years the Corpus Christi Literary Reading Series has brought big names of 20th century literature to South Texas, in the process earning a national reputation for the quality not just of the authors, but also of its audience.
   The next reading will feature Tracy Kidder, author of "House," "Home Town" and "Among Schoolchildren" in addition to other works. He'll read Saturday, April 21, at the Art Museum of South Texas.
   Jan Williams founded the series and continues to be active in the organization even though she moved to Austin five years ago. The organization got its start when Corpus Christi passed a 1 percent hotel and motel tax in 1986 and asked for input from the community about how the money could help promote local arts. Williams had been involved with a similar series in Houston, and proposed starting one in Corpus Christi.
   In 1987 the first author the series brought to Corpus Christi was Pulitzer Prize winner Larry McMurtry, author of "The Last Picture Show," "Terms of Endearment" and "Lonesome Dove."
   "He came in before we even had an organization in place," Williams said. "We had no budget, but I asked what he would charge us and I happened to have that much in savings." Williams guesses that McMurtry's discounted $3,500 fee was a special rate for the fledgling series.
   Two authors per year
   Operations have become more organized since then. There are generally two authors per year and patrons provide a budget for the series.
   In the beginning it was hard for Williams to convince well-known authors to read in Corpus Christi, but the series' national reputation makes things much easier now. Williams remembers that when she tried to get John Updike to come to Corpus Christi for a reading he said no - at first. However, after she heard a radio interview in which Updike lamented losing touch with ordinary folk she spoke to him again and told him, "Hon, if you want everyday people, we're the folks." With Williams's persistence Updike was convinced.
   Besides Updike and McMurtry, many other authors with a national reputation have participated in the series.
   Deenie Roper, an English professor at Del Mar and a fan of the series says she particularly enjoyed the lectures by McMurtry, Updike, Sandra Cisneros and Rudolfo Anaya. "There are other groups who have writers come in and visit, but this is on a consistent basis and they always have someone who is notable," Roper said.
   Audience tuned in
   Williams says that one of the reasons the series can attract such well-known authors is that the audience has a reputation as being tuned in to the author's works.
   "Several guests have stepped forward to say that the Corpus audience is one of the best they've ever encountered. By the time the author gets here he or she has an audience who has read the work."
   Denise Chavez, author of "Face of an Angel" and the upcoming "Loving Pedro Infante," thinks everyone can gain something by attending a reading.
   "It should be a collaborative experience in which the audience walks away with insight they didn't have before, and the author leaves with feedback about the work," she said. "I think that's what is happening in Corpus."
   Williams urges people who haven't yet attended a reading to give it a try. While there may be a perception that such events are elitist or inaccessible, that's not really the case.
   "The idea has always been to get a grassroots group of readers," she said. "We want to ferret out the readers in the community and give them a forum and a place to celebrate reading."


Staff writer Brendan Walsh can be reached at 886-3763 or by e-mail at walshb@caller.com

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