Heather Horvat Atwood’s thesis, “Exquisite
Animals,” is the story of an aspiring ballerina who lives only to dance, is
betrayed by her body, and turns to stripping in her search for salvation. “Exquisite Animals” is about the things
we’ll do to keep a dream alive, and the pull of desire, drugs, and human connections.
In July 2014, Heather won first place in a six word story contest sponsored by
Writing North Idaho. She received her B.A. in English literature from Southern
New Hampshire University. Born and raised in central Pennsylvania, she
currently lives in Mesa, Arizona.
Diane Les Becquets: Heather’s 4th semester mentor: Exquisite Animals, Heather’s evocative
and gripping New Adult novel, follows an obsessive young ballerina on the rise
to fame in the Pittsburgh Ballet Company, to her spiral as a strip dancer
following an injury, and her subsequent addiction to seduction, alcohol, drugs,
and power. But how far can one such spiral take someone, a once beautiful young
woman, still young, perhaps still beautiful, but denigrated by the trappings of
sex and her lust to be desired? The reader can only hold her breath and hope
for the self-redemption that Sarah finally turns to before it is too late. The
author’s command is skillful, and the writing artful, lending to a riveting
story of destruction and hope and at last liberation.
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Ken Butler … a very interesting dude (and possibly one of the
funniest men alive) … I’ll never forget his graduation speech (my first
semester in the MFA program) … he had the place in stitches. Holy
Fool is Ken’s debut novel … Sissy St. Hilaire wakes up in Vermont to
learn that her millionaire husband, George, is in a coma after a car accident.
George recovers, but he is not the same – he is kinder, smarter, and stunningly
serene. George has always been an atheist, a heel, and fervently materialistic;
now he is ecstatically spiritual, ignoring money and his business concerns.
When George announces he is
abandoning his company and family to become a Catholic priest, Sissy insists
that he commit himself for observation. At the mental hospital, Sissy, a serial
adulteress, meets young Father O’Toole, a man with a crisis of faith and a
roving eye. Sissy realizes she is attracted to O’Toole, who promises to try and
help her with her husband’s situation.
Listen to me, amici, Ken is a
phenomenal writer and incredibly interesting guy.
6pm, Walker Auditorium, Robert Frost Hall
Southern New Hampshire University
Hooksett, NH
Richard Adams Carey (Raven’s Children: An Alaskan Culture at
Twilight, Against the Tide: The Fate of the New England Fisherman, and The Philosopher Fish: Sturgeon, Caviar, and the Geography of Desire) will be reading from In the Evil Day: Violence Comes to One Small Town, forthcoming in
October 2015. It describes a day in August, ‘97, on which four leading citizens
of Colebrook, NH were killed by a man with property-rights grievances.
Merle Drown (Plowing Up A
Snake and The Suburbs Of Heaven) will be reading from Lighting the World, forthcoming in March 2015. This work explores a
tragic 1980s shooting that occurred in a Concord high school shortly before the
Challenger explosion that killed Concord teacher Christa McAuliffe. That event
overwhelmed the earlier tragedy, which was soon all but forgotten.
Room 514 (Israeli film)
Interesting movie about an
Israeli officer about to retire having to investigate the abuse of an Arab
family by one of the Israeli Army’s elite squads (another officer) … HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED …
Super Bowl Recap … what can I say? The Cheatriots have officially
earned yet another asterisk and the NFL cover-up has officially begun. As a friend
recently pointed out: How can you not
like the TV shot of Paul Allen in a sweatshirt in the box vs. Kraft in his two
tone pimp outfit? Wasn’t it interesting how Kraft didn’t have his teenage
girlfriend in attendance? Or maybe she was hiding with the ball boy someplace.
As one Boston journalist put it (paraphrasing): Pete Carroll finally delivered New England a Super Bowl Champion.
Now, if only it wasn’t as tainted
as the other three they have under coach Bill BeliCHEAT.
Go Rex! Go Bills!
—Knucks
Since Cheatriot fans are so
determined to live in the past (the Super Bowl was last week, after all) … I
thought I’d remind them of how their illustrious team fared when they weren’t
cheating: SMILEY FACE.
