Community invited to join UVa-Wise freshmen

in reading “The Things They Carried”

Incoming first-year students at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise will read Tim O’Brien’s critically acclaimed “The Things They Carried,” and community members are invited to join in this shared experience.

O’Brien, a Pulitzer Prize-nominee, will visit the UVa-Wise campus in the fall, speaking to students, faculty and staff at 1 p.m. on Oct. 5 at Fred B. Greear Gymnasium. The event is free and open to the public.

“The Things They Carried” is a collection of vignettes about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War and the things they carried with them, either in their bags or in their hearts. Named by the New York Times as one of the 10 best books of 1990, the book received the Chicago Tribune Heartland Award in fiction and was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. The French edition of the book received the Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger, and the title story was selected by John Updike for “The Best American Short Stories of the Century.”

O’Brien earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Macalester College in 1968. The summer after graduation, O’Brien received his draft notice, and in Februrary 1969, he was sent to Vietnam. Although he was opposed to the war, O’Brien served a 13-month tour of duty, during which he earned a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star for rescuing a wounded comrade under fire, and the Combat Infantry Badge.

After his discharge from the Army, O'Brien studied American military intervention at Harvard, worked briefly as a national affairs reporter for The Washington Post, and continued writing about his war experiences, which he had begun to do while still in Vietnam.

O’Brien has been hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as “the best American writer of his generation.” The author of eight books, he received the National Book Award in Fiction in 1979 for his novel “Going After Cacciato.” In addition, Time magazine named O’Brien’s “In the Lake of the Woods” the best novel of 1994. The book also received the James Fenimore Cooper Prize from the Society of American Historians and was selected as one of the 10 best books of the year by the New York Times.

His other books include “If I Die in a Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home,” “Northern Lights,” “Tomcat in Love” and “July, July.” His short fiction has appeared in periodicals such as The New Yorker, Atlantic, Esquire, Playboy and Granta.

Currently a visiting professor at Texas State University, San Marcos, O'Brien held the Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte Endowed Chair in Creative Writing there for two years.

The UVa-Wise freshman reading is part of the College’s ongoing mission to help new students adapt to college life and define their identities while exposing them to other cultures. The shared reading experience serves as a class-building exercise to encourage all freshmen to engage in the same learning activity regardless of their major.

“The Things They Carried” is available for purchase at the UVa-Wise Campus Bookstore.

For more information, contact the Office of College Relations at (276) 328-0130.

Posted June 14, 2007