WAUKESHA – Larry Watson, who has published books, poetry, essays, short stories, and reviews, will speak to students at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha on Wednesday, April 12, at 1:00 p.m. in the Commons Conference Room 101 on campus at 1500 N. University Dr., Waukesha. Part of the campus Visions & Expressions series, the presentation is open to the public at no charge as well.Watson started leaving his homeland in the Dakotas in the 1970’s when he went to graduate school in Utah, and he published a chapbook of poems titled Leaving Dakota in 1983. That followed a novel in 1980, In A Dark Time. Since then the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point professor of English has published three more novels in addition to many other works.His second novel, Montana 1948 (1993), garnered the Milkweed Fiction Prize, the Friends of American Writers Award for the best book by a Midwestern writer, a 1994 Fiction Award from the Mountain and Plains States Booksellers, the Banta Award for the best book of 1993 by a Wisconsin writer, and a 1995 Critics’ Choice Award. It was selected as a 1993 Notable Book by the American Library Association in both Adult and Young Adult categories and named to the list of 1993 Best Books by the New York Public Library and one of the top ten novels of 1993 by Bookline.He published White Crosses in 1997, and his newest book, Laura, is due out this year. Two of his novels have been optioned for films. His short stories and poems have appeared in journals and quarterlies around the country. His work deals with the internal moral questions that face individuals and families. He breaks the stereotypes of his characters’ roles and depicts their very human life struggles.In addition Watson has written book reviews carried in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and other newspapers and periodicals.
Born in Rugby and raised in Bismarck, North Dakota, Watson earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from the University of North Dakota. He completed a Ph.D. in the creative writing program at the University of Utah in 1978, the same year he joined the faculty of UW-Stevens Point, where he teaches English and creative writing. He has received grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Wisconsin Arts Board.
