The residents of Fort Smith鈥檚 diverse community -- from Vietnam veterans to college
students to the city鈥檚 Vietnamese population -- will have a chance to read an acclaimed
novel on the Vietnam War prior to the author coming to Fort Smith on March 12.
Tim O鈥橞rien鈥檚 鈥淭he Things They Carried鈥� was selected as the annual book for the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith鈥檚 ReadThis! program, and some readers will pick up the novel with no prior concept of the Vietnam War and its toll on the soldiers who fought in it.
While O鈥橞rien doesn鈥檛 want to dictate how his best-selling novel is interpreted by the various individuals who read the book, he hopes 鈥淭he Things They Carried鈥� will inspire them to continue learning -- and reading -- about the conflict.
鈥淭he virtue is that I get so many letters from people that had no idea what [the Vietnam War] was at all, but now they have a feel for it, and they say they want to read more,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hether they were frustrated by my book or loved my book, it made them want to say 鈥業 want to learn more.鈥� And that鈥檚 great.鈥�
Readers will have a chance to learn more about O鈥橞rien and his body of work when he comes to Fort Smith in March for 鈥淎n Evening with Tim O鈥橞rien,鈥� a talk capping two months of ReadThis! events centered around his celebrated novel.
The speaking engagement will be held at 5:30 p.m. March 12 at the Stubblefield Center on 妻友社区 campus and will be followed by a book signing. Admission is free and open to the public, but tickets are required and available through the 妻友社区 Box Office.
鈥淭he Things They Carried鈥� garnered praise from critics and readers alike upon its release in 1990. The New York Times said of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated novel: 鈥淏y moving beyond the horror of the fighting to examine with sensitivity and insight the nature of courage and fear鈥O鈥橞rien] places 鈥楾he Things They Carried鈥� high up on the list of best fiction about any war.鈥�
It was O鈥橞rien鈥檚 sixth novel and one that was five years and thousands of hours of work in the making. O鈥橞rien adhered to a strict work regimen while writing the novel, working on average from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. every day in an arduous grind of perpetual revision.
鈥淭o be a writer, you have to be really stubborn, almost like a donkey,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 get done in a day or two days, or a year or two years, or sometimes even five years. It鈥檚 endless revision, endless criticism of oneself, endless rethinking.鈥�
O鈥橞rien, who was already a committed writer prior to serving in the Vietnam War, found the craft a perfect outlet to explore the emotions and occurrences he experienced overseas.
鈥淚 think going back to Vietnam and going back to the things they carried was necessary for me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not sure if it was entirely psychological, but it was more a feeling that there were so many other stories that were worth telling. And I think that鈥檚 probably what really pushed me to write this book.鈥�
To have the novel selected for a community read is to O鈥橞rien 鈥渁 real honor.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of a validation of a lifetime鈥檚 worth of work. To have so many people around the country reading 鈥楾he Things They Carried鈥� and to have it chosen for a community read like this is unbelievable,鈥� he said. 鈥淰ery few writers get that, and it鈥檚 really neat to go to a town where so many people have read my book.鈥�
After doing approximately 20 speaking engagements a year across the nation, O鈥橞rien began to cut back on the amount of talks he gave due to its interference with his writing. Now he said he goes 鈥渨here I want to go and to places I鈥檝e never been before鈥� -- hence Fort Smith.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I鈥檓 going -- I鈥檝e never been there,鈥� said O鈥橞rien. 鈥淚鈥檝e only been in Arkansas twice in my life -- once was in Fayetteville 25 years ago. And I met smart people and good writers, so now I want to see another part.鈥�
鈥淎n Evening with Tim O鈥橞rien鈥� will last approximately an hour and include O鈥橞rien reading a short excerpt from 鈥淭he Things They Carried鈥� in addition to a prepared talk and a question-and-answer session.
Tickets, if available, can be acquired at the time of the event, but it is recommended to get them in advance. For tickets, contact the Box Office at 479-788-7300.