Sam and three contributors to The Gary Anthology helped initiate the Dunes Literary Reading Series, sponsored by Indiana University Northwest. This conversation has a decidedly IUN/Glen Park focus. Joining Sam were his former (and forever) Northwest Phoenix comrades and IUN alums Jessica Peterson Rogers and Daniel Summers, and Tim Svetly, author of King and Queen of the Badlands: Roy Boy & Debra the Tattooed Lady. This reading was hosted by IUN English professor Garin Cycholl. Special thanks to William Allegrezza for technical assistance.
A recording of the reading can be found at this link.
If it feels like old home week, well, it kind of was! Sam grew up one block into Merrillville and made regular trips to Glen Park as a kid with his parents in the 1980s, and then as an IUN student in the 1990s. One of the most memorable neighborhood fixtures was Roy Boy Cooper, a larger than life character who had his hair done by the same woman who cut Sam's! Tim Svetly talks about Roy Boy's international significance as a tattoo artist and his importance to the local community.
Jessica remembers Tamarack Hall and her first visit to campus, reading excerpts for her story "On The Quad." Daniel mentions a campus and community controversy he helped spark back in the 1990s after a racial profiling incident and how humor helped him prevail in the situation.
Before reading, Professor Cycholl and Sam spoke about The Gary Anthology for the Center for Urban and Regional Excellence Partners In Conversation series.
And check out what's upcoming in the Dunes Literary Series.
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