Jennifer Haigh Reading
Jennifer Haigh reads from her novel, Baker Towers. She discusses how her childhood experience of growing up in a small mining town in Pennsylvania ultimately informed the setting for Baker Towers. Haigh’s discussions with female relatives who had lived through World War II also helped shape the character of the three Novak daughters. She outlines the research process that was involved in the writing of her novel, employing both oral history and library research techniques.
Haigh briefly discusses her readers’ responses to her previous novel, Mrs. Kimball. She relays numerous anecdotes of readers who identified with or felt strong reactions to the distinct characters in that novel.
Haigh goes on to discuss her experiences within the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, which she graduated from in 2002. Haigh’s undergraduate writing instructor had initially advised her to wait some time after graduating to enter the MFA program, and she discusses the positive outcome of that decision. She also discusses how the Writers’ Workshop proved invaluable in finding a “lifelong reader” for her work, someone with whom to critique her work.
In: "Live from Prairie Lights" Audio Archive | Fiction
Authors: Jennifer Haigh
Date Recorded: February 01, 2005
Works Read: Baker Towers, by Jennifer Haigh
Program: Live From Prairie Lights
Format: reading
Contributors: Introduction by host Julie Englander.
Topics: coal mining, small town life, WWII, playwriting, Iowa Writer's Workshop, literacy, primary source research
Note: A question and answer period follows the reading.