Celebrated author, Erika Krouse, visited Ashland University on Monday, February 26th. Krouse is recognized for her short stories collection Come Up and See Me Sometime, as well as for her new novel Contenders. Her short stories collection won the Paterson Fiction Award and her novel was a finalist for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. Aside from publishing her work in literary giants like The New Yorker, she mentors for the Lighthouse Book Project and works part-time as a private investigator. Krouse holds a B.A. and a M.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing. Hailing all the way from Colorado, she gave students, faculty members, and guests a reading of her short fiction piece “Wounds of the Heart and Great Vessels.”
During her reading, it became clear that Krouse was passionate about her selection. She discussed how a tragedy in her own life had halted her writing process. “Wounds of the Heart and Great Vessels” got her back to writing during that time and became a beautiful product of that tragedy. While listening to Krouse’s reading, I could feel the author pushing and pulling me wherever she wanted me to go. The narrative voice was painfully real and authentic because in just a short number of pages, I was rooting for her and worried about her. On top of that, Krouse managed to explore the human condition. The audience experienced a wide range of emotions as we often felt the need to laugh, but also heard the steady echo of sadness. During my experience with “Wounds of the Heart and Great Vessels,” there were many moments where I found myself slamming back against my chair thinking about how great a line was or how powerfully I felt about a passage before a break. It was a true representation of Krouse’s talent and her influence as a writer.
After the reading, Krouse signed my newly-purchased Contenders (thanks to Dr. Joe Mackall). She wished me success in my own writing and I felt like fangirling because it was like meeting a celebrity. The senior creative writing majors even got to go to dinner with Krouse, where we picked her mind and tried to learn as much as we could from her wealth of experience and expertise. Her feedback was incredible, and it was truly an honor learning from a writer like Krouse. Plus, we had plenty of laughs and memories to take with us. After going to the reading series and dinner, I am very excited to dive into Krouse’s novel and work hard to one day become a writer like her.
