Times of Northwest Indiana

The power of the written word

BY ROB EARNSHAW

November 11, 2007

Don DeLillo is regarded as one of America's greatest contemporary authors. He also wrote the play "Valparaiso," in which a man suddenly becomes famous following a mistake in the itinerary of a business trip that takes him to Valparaiso, Chile, instead of Valparaiso, Ind.

DeLillo and his award-winning novel "White Noise" will be the topic of discussion during Wordfest, an annual series of readings by distinguished authors and poets, panel discussions and student writing contests held at Valparaiso University.

Dr. John N. Duvall, professor of English at Purdue University and editor of the journal Modern Fiction Studies, who authored the book "Don DeLillo's Underworld: A Readers Guide," will discuss DeLillo's influential novel.

Duvall's interest in DeLillo began when a friend recommended "White Noise" (which came out in 1985).

"I remember laughing out loud in a number of places and decided that I had to read DeLillo's earlier novels as well," Duvall said. "Since then, I've always read everything DeLillo has written."

Duvall wrote a review of DeLillo's 1997 novel "Underworld" for the Memphis Commercial-Appeal while he was teaching at the University of Memphis.

"All my copies of DeLillo's novels since then are advance copies," Duvall said.

As part of his visit to Valparaiso, Duvall will give an informal talk to VU literature students on his work as editor of Modern Fiction Studies, a job which gives him the opportunity to read all the new work in modern and contemporary fiction.

Duvall enjoys the informal discussions with college students because he likes to talk to them about their plans following graduation.

"Like all professors, I end up writing a fair number of recommendations for students heading off to law or graduate school," he said.

Margaret McMullan, a novelist and professor of English from Evansville, Ind., is the final visiting author for Wordfest. She'll present a reading of her work on Feb. 21.

"I think the Wordfest event at Valparaiso is fantastic and essential," McMullan said. "Young writers need encouraging. Writing helps both readers and writers think about lives and humanity -- past, present and future."

VU student John Linstrom said Wordfest is a great opportunity for writing students to get a taste of their potential profession as creative writers.

"When many think of a professional writer, they think of a wiry-haired guy hunched over a typewriter," Linstrom said. "Wordfest lets us see that it is much more than that."