Smart Bets: Jenn Shapland

Posted on by Edwin Arnaudin

During her time as an archives intern at the University of Texas at Austin’s Harry Ransom Center, Jenn Shapland came across love letters between acclaimed writer Carson McCullers (The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter) and Swiss author Annemarie Clarac-Schwarzenbach. The tender correspondence struck a deeply personal nerve within Shapland and prompted her to dig into McCullers’ life and craft to give a more honest portrait of the misunderstood scribe. Over the next six years, Shapland retraced McCullers’ steps and wove her own story into a new text, My Autobiography of Carson McCullers — parts memoir, biography, love letter, detective story and an eloquent plea to change the way queer women’s stories are told. Shapland will read from her latest work Thursday, Feb. 13, at Malaprop’s, and discuss the book in conversation with UNC Asheville English professor Erica Abrams Locklear, beginning at 6 p.m. Free to attend. malaprops.com. Photo courtesy of the author

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About Edwin Arnaudin
Edwin Arnaudin is a staff writer for Mountain Xpress. He also reviews films for ashevillemovies.com and is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) and North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA). Follow me @EdwinArnaudin
View all posts by Edwin Arnaudin →

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