Minnesota author and playwright visits UWS
3/11/2010
By Patrick Lilja
Staff Writer
In honor of Women’s History Month, critically acclaimed Minneapolis-based author Marisha Chamberlain held a forum and read excerpts from her novel The Rose Variations on March 10 in the University of Wisconsin-Superior’s Multi-Cultural Center in Old Main. About 15 people attended the reading; only one or two were UWS students.
The Rose Variations follows the life of a twenty-five year old woman named Rose MacGregor as she attempts to make her career in music after moving to St. Paul, Minnesota, and also deals with many of the struggles in Rose’s life.
Chamberlain, who has also received praise as a playwright with her original plays Scheherazade, The Canterville Ghost, and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm as well as acclaim for her adaptations of other stories into plays. She is also working on a new novel that she says will be completed sometime this spring.
After she had finished reading the excerpts from The Rose Variations that she had chosen, Chamberlain then opened the forum to a motley of different discussions, including discussions on books that audience members were currently reading or had recently finished reading, discussion about Chamberlain’s novel and characters in her novel, and more. After the forum concluded, Chamberlain also hosted a book signing session and also had copies of The Rose Variations for sale.
Dianna Hunter, senior lecturer of women’s studies at UWS, said that she hoped that Chamberlain’s visit would help prospective writers at UWS.
“It’s rare to get a writer, much less one who is successful in many genres, to sort of give a reality check [to prospective writers] about their dreams and give them a little inspiration,” said Hunter.
With it also being Women’s History Month, both Hunter and Chamberlain explained the significance that each personally feels about taking the time to recognize the accomplishments of women in history.
“We still talk about writing women into history because women were seen to lead private lives and not public ones, and women were not seen to do great things - only small ones,” Hunter explained. “It’s about putting women back into history and recognizing their accomplishments.”
Chamberlain echoed Hunter’s sentiments.
“For girls and women, there’s been so much denigration that it’s nice to have something to reflect on,” Chamberlain said. “It’s a huge privilege [to be female] and it’s hard to understand the oppression of women.”
Those interested in purchasing a copy of The Rose Variations can find the book at independent booksellers or purchase the book online at amazon.com.
The Rose Variations follows the life of a twenty-five year old woman named Rose MacGregor as she attempts to make her career in music after moving to St. Paul, Minnesota, and also deals with many of the struggles in Rose’s life.
Chamberlain, who has also received praise as a playwright with her original plays Scheherazade, The Canterville Ghost, and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm as well as acclaim for her adaptations of other stories into plays. She is also working on a new novel that she says will be completed sometime this spring.
After she had finished reading the excerpts from The Rose Variations that she had chosen, Chamberlain then opened the forum to a motley of different discussions, including discussions on books that audience members were currently reading or had recently finished reading, discussion about Chamberlain’s novel and characters in her novel, and more. After the forum concluded, Chamberlain also hosted a book signing session and also had copies of The Rose Variations for sale.
Dianna Hunter, senior lecturer of women’s studies at UWS, said that she hoped that Chamberlain’s visit would help prospective writers at UWS.
“It’s rare to get a writer, much less one who is successful in many genres, to sort of give a reality check [to prospective writers] about their dreams and give them a little inspiration,” said Hunter.
With it also being Women’s History Month, both Hunter and Chamberlain explained the significance that each personally feels about taking the time to recognize the accomplishments of women in history.
“We still talk about writing women into history because women were seen to lead private lives and not public ones, and women were not seen to do great things - only small ones,” Hunter explained. “It’s about putting women back into history and recognizing their accomplishments.”
Chamberlain echoed Hunter’s sentiments.
“For girls and women, there’s been so much denigration that it’s nice to have something to reflect on,” Chamberlain said. “It’s a huge privilege [to be female] and it’s hard to understand the oppression of women.”
Those interested in purchasing a copy of The Rose Variations can find the book at independent booksellers or purchase the book online at amazon.com.
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