On November 2, 28 AP English 12 students attended a lecture and Q&A session with Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Chabon at the Columbus Main Library, sponsored by The New Albany Community Foundation, Battelle, Nationwide, and OSU.
Mr. Chabon spoke eloquently on Edgar Allen Poe, Gothic literature, the difficulties of being a teenager, threats to teenagers’ civil liberties, our amazing Bill of Rights, and the importance of imagination in teenage life. His advice to aspiring writers was succinct: “Read.”
During the Q&A session, NAHS student Gabby Masters asked Mr. Chabon what his favorite book is. He responded that the answer to that question has changed over the course of his life, and that as a teen, his answer would have been Dune by Frank Herbert, but that currently his favorite is Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
The students were able to meet Mr. Chabon and have books autographed. He was quite gracious and spoke at length with individual students about his experiences in the world of writing, giving them words of encouragement for their own writing.
Mr. Chabon’s first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, became a New York Times bestseller. Chabon’s second novel, Wonder Boys, was also a bestseller, and was made into a critically acclaimed film. His book The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay was selected by the American Library Association as one of the Notable Books of 2000 and won the Pulitzer Prize. In addition, Chabon has also written novels for young adults and his first children’s book, entitled The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man. He has also written numerous articles and essays and a number of screenplays and teleplays. Chabon’s new novel, Telegraph Avenue, was recently released.
