From May 21 to 27, the Principia College community was honored to have an acclaimed writer in its midst. Through a week of craft talks, lectures, and even a writing workshop, Susan Vreeland, the 2008-2009 Annenberg Visiting Scholar, offered up her fiction writing expertise to both aspiring writers and inspired learners.
Vreeland, a Christian Scientist, is a best-selling novelist who taught high school English in San Diego for 30 years before turning to writing. She has won many awards for her five historical novels based on the lives of great artists. Three of her books were New York Times bestsellers. In addition, Vreeland’s first book, What Love Sees, a biographical novel of a woman’s determination to lead a full life despite blindness, was made into a CBS television movie.
Special Events Coordinator Tim Booth said of Vreeland, “She is such a good example of professionalism. She is very inspiring and committed to her craft.”
Beginning this past winter, English professor Dinah Ryan worked extensively with Vreeland to design and plan a meaningful and busy visit for the writer. Ryan called Vreeland’s visit to Principia a “multidisciplinary opportunity,” which wove together art, history, and writing.
Ryan said that Vreeland was “extraordinarily generous” with her time at Principia. She commented that Vreeland held individual consultations with interested students and visited several classrooms, in addition to delivering three craft talks, being interviewed on Prin Internet Radio, giving two lectures, and facilitating a writing workshop.
During her three craft talks, Vreeland taught specifically about writing historical fiction, fiction writing in general, and ekphrastic writing, or writing about art. Ryan said that she was impressed by the numerous and diverse students, faculty, staff, and other community members, who attended and participated in the events of Vreeland’s visit. Senior Amy Ward, a history major, attended three of Vreeland’s events. She said, “It was such a cool experience to do something as creative as fiction writing for a change.” She added that while she has written many history papers, she has “never been able to tell the stories in history descriptively” before.
Ryan expressed her appreciation that Vreeland is “fearless and direct about issues she writes about, but definitely understands what she calls the spiritual subtext.” Ryan explained that students sometimes feel uneasy about tackling difficult subjects in writing. She said that Vreeland understands that “writing, even though it deals with heartwrenching issues, is really a spiritually-driven activity and a moral and concrete one.”
Although she paints her word pictures on a historical backdrop of the lives of the great masters, Vreeland admitted she has never painted in her life. Nevertheless, she said, she writes about art because of its effect on her imagination. Vreeland said that art gives her the opportunity for spiritual reflection and provides subjects for her writing. She added, “The highest level of art is to uplift spirit.”
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