On September 28, CMU alumnus Daren Dean ‘01 was invited by the Central Methodist University English Department and Cultural Affairs Committee to speak to faculty and students about his latest release, Roads.
Dean’s visit to campus was an important one as he shared his success as a writer to students and faculty.
“I thought students, both English majors and others, would be interested in the writing success of a CMU graduate. It was a great experience for me overall in Fayette. I was an English fellow, editor of Inscape magazine, contributed to the newspaper, and worked as the evening supervisor at Smiley Library,” said Dean.
Dean spoke with Dr. Ryan Woldruff’s creative writing class and talked about writing and writing craft. He spoke about where to find ideas, writing in flow, and Natalie Goldberg’s 7 Rules of Writing. Dean and the class also did a writing exercise after reading Alison Townsend’s “The Barbie Birthday.”
Later that evening, Dean spoke about and read small excerpts from Roads. After the reading, the audience asked Dean questions about his writing process and his inspiration behind writing his latest novel. Audience members also had the chance to speak to Dean personally and purchase a signed copy of his novels, Roads, This Vale of Fears, The Black Harvest, and I’ll Still be Here Long After You’re Gone.
When asked about when he would write his next book, Dean said that he was “already at work on a new novel about a Vietnam vet who comes back home several years after the war has ended. He has to confront the lies he was told as a young man and his own inner demons. Most of all he has to confront his own misdeeds before he was sent overseas.”
Dean continues to teach at Lincoln University of Missouri as an assistant professor of English. He lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Cassie, and their children.
For more information about Daren Dean and his novels, visit his website: https://darendean.wixsite.com/daren-dean.