Southeast Missouri State University student publication

Author Lincoln Michel visits Southeast

Monday, November 28, 2016
A crowd of students and staff sit in Glenn Auditorium and wait for Lincoln Michel to speak.
Photo by Ben Walsh

On Nov. 15, writer Lincoln Michel told some of his short stories to Southeast Missouri State University students in the Glenn Auditorium.

Michel is the editor-in-chief of Electric Literature online and the founding editor of Gigantic, a magazine featuring short stories and art. Michel also has been featured in many newspapers and tabloids such as The Guardian and The New York Times.

“I like reading shorter stories to groups of people instead of longer ones. It keeps the crowd more interested and makes me seem a little less boring,” Michel said jokingly.

Michel told some of his well-known short stories to Southeast students. Some of the works he read included “The Yellow Spark of Clarity,” “Routine” and “The Deer in Virginia.”

One of the stories Michel told was called “My Life in the Bellies of Beasts.” The story deals with him explaining life by comparing it to being swallowed by animals. Michel says humans always feel trapped somewhere, but eventually adapt and become accustomed to their entrapments. The story ends with the main character forming a relationship with another person who also breaks out of the “beasts’ bellies.” Michel calls “My Life in the Bellies of Beasts” a more personable and deep story compared to some of his others.

Michel not only read some short stories, but he also discussed some of his favorite writers.

“It’s difficult for me to actually narrow down my favorite writers to just a few people,” Michel said. “I like to keep an open mind, but I do enjoy writers who are interested in getting outside of reality in a fun, weird way. It’s always fun to read a variety of story types by the same writer.”

Michel also had some advice for aspiring authors, stating that persistency and personal evaluation is a key to successful writing.

“Try submitting stories to multiple papers and outlets. Not every story you write will get published, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. You have to keep working at it and tweaking things,” Michel said.

Andy McEwen, a freshman at Southeast, attended the event to hear the stories and get tips on improving his own writing.

“I wanted to do some reflecting on my own writing style, and I thought this would be a great event to do it,” McEwen said. “I thought Michel’s stories were interesting and I enjoyed the short story format he followed.”

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