Local writer to read from revised work

Oct 17th, 2018

Ryan Guth, Assistant Professor of English at Jackson State Community College, has released a revised and expanded version of his first book, Home Truths. Guth will be reading from this and his second book, Body and Soul, along with some excerpts from his work in progress, Livings, at the University of Memphis Lambuth campus at 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 1.

Guth describes himself as a mixed-genre author who blends a narrative framework of verse and prose - and hybrids of his own invention - to tell stories from the past based on fact, fiction and his own memory. Guth explores the boundaries of creative nonfiction, fictionalizing accounts as needed to capture the nuances of his subjects' emotions and the atmosphere of his stories' settings.

Home Truths is a speculative reconstruction of events that occurred in his family before he was born. As he wrote it, he said he sought an alternative to the focused narrative of a novel or the inevitable discreteness of the miscellaneous volume of poetry.

The mixed-genre nature of his books has allowed for portions to be extracted and enjoyed in other formats. Individual selections have appeared in publications such as Lummox, Iron Horse, Bryant Literary Review, Third Coast Review, River City and Our Jackson Home. He has been invited to several readings, presentations and panel discussions, as well as local radio and television programs, where he has been able to promote his work and cultivate an audience. Body and Soul was a featured selection at the 2015 Southern Festival of Books, and the revised Home Truths was just presented at the 2018 Southern Festival.

Guth is currently working on a third project, Livings, which explores the eccentric home life and personalities of the four famous Brontë siblings between 1845 and 1850. After failed careers, they all returned home to become writers and poets and live with their equally unusual father, an elderly Anglican pastor.

Both Home Truths and Body and Soul are available for purchase on Amazon. Copies will also be available for purchase at the reading on November 1.



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