Pictured: Lauren Dose (RU-2023 & 2025) and English professor Bill Walsh
Lauren Dose (RU-2023 and 2025), a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA) student, and English professor Bill Walsh presented at the Flannery O’Connor “Looking Forward, Looking Back” academic conference on September 12th. Invited by Dr. Bruce Gentry, one of the foremost O’Connor scholars, Dose and Walsh were honored to accept the privilege. Flannery O’Connor (American, 1925-1964), a novelist, essayist, and short story, is one of the South’s most influential fictional writers. She was born in Savannah, Georgia, and lived in Milledgeville, Georgia.
The event held in Milledgeville, celebrated the upcoming centennial of the novelist’s birth. Dose’s and Walsh’s presentations focused on their forthcoming book Andalusia: The Key to Understanding Flannery O’Connor’s Fiction (McFarland & Co), which they co-authored with Olivia Ruzicka (RU-2024).
At the conference, Dose explained their extensive research and writing to notable O’Connor scholars. Dose highlighted O’Connor’s personality and background, painting a picture of the author’s life, the psychology of a writer, and how the environment affects creativity.
Dose detailed their exploration of a writer’s relationship to their home through the various themes in O’Connor’s writings. “We all derive inspiration from something – something in our environment, something in our lives, the people around us – and that’s what we’re trying to illustrate with this book,” Dose expounded. “Andalusia is Flannery’s stomping ground. Essentially, she pulled material for her stories from the land, and from the people that worked on the farm. And without it, we wouldn’t have some of these amazing stories. They are also so universal, and each is so deeply personal to me now that I’ve spent time with them.”
In addition, Dose discussed the subconscious nature of the creative writing process, referencing O’Connor’s quote, “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” Dose, along with her co-authors hope their work continues to illuminate O’Connor’s legacy. The writing of Andalusia: The Key to Understanding Flannery O’Connor’s Fiction attracted the first-ever publishing contract for undergraduates at Reinhardt University. An announcement will be made when the book becomes available.
