By Josh Hildebrand ’22, staff writer
LVC will welcome the second visiting writer of this semester, Diane Zinna, as part of its “Writing a Life” series on Monday, Oct. 18.
During her visit, Zinna will read from her debut novel, “The All-Night Sun,” which follows a grieving woman, Lauren Cress, and her entanglement with a student, Siri, during a trip the two take to Sweden to celebrate Midsommar.
The novel’s story is somewhat based on true events. Much like Lauren in “The All-Night Sun,” 20 years ago, Zinna travelled to Sweden with a friend. During the trip, Zinna recalls struggling with grief. Many years later, the idea for the novel came to her in a dream.
“It was a dark period,” Zinna said. “One morning, [after dreaming] I woke up and quickly outlined twenty chapters. The idea of telling a story of grief splashed against a canvas of Midsommar, a time of endless cheer, would provide a lot of opportunities for me to explore the complexity of grief.”
The nonlinear structure of the narrative reflects the chaotic nature of grief, an effect intended by Zinna.
“Grief feels like you are walking down the street and you see something that transports you to a memory,” Zinna said. “The transition between past and present narration felt real to me, and there’s an electricity in truth that readers can feel.”
Since childhood, Zinna has had a love of writing. She recalls reading T.H. White’s “The Once and Future King,” a novel based on Arthurian legend, as sparking her creative writing journey.
“I remember being amazed at seeing how the author brought details ‘home,’” Zinna said. “That is something I have never forgotten, a technique the author employed, and I could see how he had done it.”
Zinna has been teaching creative writing for over ten years. She created a writing mentorship program in 2014 to further aid writers and combine her passion for storytelling with her experience as a teacher.
“I feel that great writers are those who can translate a feeling for those who don’t yet have the language for it,” Zinna said. “For writers, being able to do this translation and seeing a reader ‘get it’ is a way of connecting that will make our art better for the rest of our lives.”
Zinna’s reading will be held in person in Zimmerman (limited capacity) and on Zoom tonight. Registration is required for Zoom. Click HERE to register.