By JULES SHINKLE
BG Independent News
The auditorium was electric with inspiration as author Bonnie Jo Campbell shared her beautiful prose, sage advice, and playful banter Thursday evening.
The acclaimed writer paid a visit to BGSU’s Wolfe Center for the Arts to answer questions and read from her selected writings. She was introduced with a lengthy list of accolades: 2011 Guggenheim Fellow, finalist for the National Book Award and National Book Critic’s Circle Award, and recipient of the Mark Twain Award from the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature.
Once Campbell took the stage, she brushed the praise aside with whimsical humility.
Campbell is often recognized for her prowess in the “rural noir” genre. Her latest book, “The Waters,” is set in the fictional country town of Whiteheart, Michigan. As she read from its prologue (or, as she wryly calls it, Chapter Zero), the Great Massasauga Swamp came to life. Verdant, thick greenery and murky waters filled the room as Campbell described the land’s ecology.
Part of Campbell’s writing process leads her to inhabit the characters and their talents as her own. The protagonist, Hermine Zook, is an herbalist – a person who treats ailments with plant-derived tinctures and balms.
In the 10 years it took Campbell to write “The Waters,” she picked up herbalism herself, as well as marksmanship. Her interest in these pastimes allows for Campbell to get the details right in addition to fueling her creative process.
When asked how she finds inspiration, the author shared a secret: seek out numinous experiences. To feel numinous is to be “filled with a sense of the presence of divinity,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. The author has gotten a lot of use from a more secular interpretation of the word.
Campbell urged the audience to get in touch with whatever gives them a thrill. “It will become the food for your creative endeavors.” For her, large spoons in antique shops do the job. The joy found from partaking in the numinous inspires her to stay curious.
Campbell has purposely cultivated her capacity for fascination throughout her life. Surprisingly, this did not stem from a bookish childhood. “I wasn’t much of a reader,” she explained, “Once I got old enough I just chased boys.”
She was, however, a great listener – a skill that she fostered by taking interest in other peoples’ stories.
“Maybe that’s the best thing about being an author – inhabiting other people.” All folks, even the fictional ones, have much to teach if one is willing to listen. Writers like Campbell make it easy to be engrossed in their vivid, interesting characters. A sign of a truly great story is when its themes and people rub off on the reader. In Campbell’s opinion, the author has to buy-in too: “You have to believe what your stories tell you.”
