Dave Eggers talked, and you were there;
last year, perhaps, you went to see
famous author Salman Rushdie —
both spoke with their own brand of flair.You have a fair respect for arts
as Joe or Jane Northwestern kid.
But let me ask you something: Did
you know that, for their wearied part,
there is another group that brings
great authors to our campus here —
who have won in these recent years
Nobels and Pulitzers and things?
You don’t; I’ll tell you why. They all
were brought here by the major in
creative writing. Why the grin?
You’ve never heard of that? We’re small —
and I am used to people who
will ask me if I study lit
when twice I’ve told them, goddammit,
I study writing, as on cue.

OK, sorry about that. Except not. Because it’s what I do, and I think you, dear reader, probably get more exposure to North Face and Burger King than poetry. Even bad poetry like that.

But I can deal with some people’s inability to comprehend that a writing program exists at NU. What I can’t deal with is that the English major in writing and groups like the Center for the Writing Arts host author after author, and every time the same 30 or so show up — usually all writing majors.

Maybe I am the only one who can’t fathom the lack of interest in these events. Some, including the current director of the major in writing, English Prof. Brian Bouldrey, seem not to mind. “Oddly, I’m not terribly upset by the small crowds,” he said. “It’s not really the task of a writer to be a show person. The writer-as-personality is a recent phenomenon.”

Having grown up when readings, signings and lectures are a huge part of the literary world, I didn’t know there was ever a time when you couldn’t sip an overpriced coffee while listening to excerpts from a book. What did writers do before then? Besides, um, write?

English Prof. Mary Kinzie agreed with Bouldrey’s analysis: “I confess I am cheered, if not by large audiences … at least by the quantity of events and readings which a strong cohort” consistently attend.

But I’d still like people to know what they’re missing. Although NU usually only brings one household-name author a year, plenty of events showcase writers just as good if not better than the “Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius”-wunderkind. Go to the next one, a reading by writers-in-residence W.S. Di Piero and Alexander Stille, at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Italian Cultural Institute, 500 N. Michigan Ave. Several other readings will happen on campus in November.

I apologize for going plug-crazy. The very need to plug these events probably indicates the continual decline in popularity of writing. But I’ll just stop worrying that you, dear reader, are going to show up — and start being grateful that someone will. Both Kinzie and Bouldrey shared anecdotes of being one of only two people to attend readings in the past. At least the situation of the arts at NU isn’t that dire.

Yet.