By Angelica Fraine, ’23 staff writer

Folktale reigns as one of the oldest forms of fiction, passed down by screen, pencil and mouth, woven together to enrapture an audience and never let go.

LVC’s visiting writer, Matt Bell, is enthralled by the lure and lore of old fiction.  

Bell, an accomplished author of both fiction and nonfiction, recently released his latest novel, “Appleseed.” It’s a riveting science fiction revision of the classic tale of pioneer Johnny Appleseed with woven effects of global climate change and industrial catastrophe, where the timelines of a Faun, a human and a clone brilliantly mold the fantastical and factual into one.

“I loved the folktale as a kid,” Bell said, when asked how the idea for the novel was born.

Bell explained he was on a run, listening to Michael Pollan’s “Botany of Desire,” on the domestication of the apple, when he envisioned a Faun running through the woods, scattering apple seeds left and right.

“As soon as I started writing, the relationship between the human and the nonhuman began to suggest itself to me,” Bell said.

Much of the content revealed itself to him over the course of three-and-a-half years and two drafts, but Bell kept with the idea because it never ceased to excite him.

“You can’t go wrong with a fairytale retelling,” Bell said. “It’s inexhaustible.” 

Alongside his career as an author, Bell teaches creative writing classes at Arizona State University, extending his knowledge of the craft to younger generations. He believes college students are so used to the expectation that they must present themselves as grounded in literal intelligence, they never allow themselves time to explore creative endeavors.

“There’s so much of our life we spend trying to fit in,” Bell said. “It’s nice to have our uniqueness highlighted instead. I think anybody has the talent and the experience to become a writer if they want to be.”

His goal as an instructor is to help students find ways to value what they bring to the page on their own and encourage them to be playful and brave in their writing. His classes are also open to non-majors.

Matt Bell will be a guest speaker for LVC’s Writing: A Life series on Monday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Registration is required for the event.