Professor wins international fiction award

Richard Bausch's office is lined with shelves overflowing with books. But that's what one expects of an award-winning novelist.

Bausch tugs the brim of his beret, leans back in his chair and scratches his beard as he ponders the question, "Why does your newest book focus on war?"

"I really don't know," Bausch said. "I don't really choose the subjects I write about. They choose me. Some of it is made up. Something in it is a story I heard my father tell."

Bausch, the Chair of Excellence in English at The University Memphis, took that story his father told him and turned it into Peace, a novel about American soldiers in Italy during World War II.

"The book is set in war, but the subject is really peace," Bausch said.

Bausch said the theme of the book is, "Wherever we are not there, there is peace."

The novel won the 2009 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and has been called "Brilliant" by The New York Times Book Review and "Perfect" by The Seattle Times.

While Bausch is glad for the award and the accolades, he doesn't let it go to his head.

"The worst thing you can do is take anything critics say to heart," Bausch said. "The best thing to do is not take any of it into account and just write good stories."

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize is the only international literary peace prize given out in the United States. While Bausch said he does appreciate receiving the award, he doesn't think it makes him a better writer.

"It's all a crapshoot," Bausch said. "An award doesn't validate a writer. He is what he is. The only effect that it has on your work is that it keeps you from working."

Bausch was referring to attending the ceremony in Dayton, Ohio, where he will receive The Dayton Literary Peace Prize along with $10,000.

Bausch said all joking aside, he was excited to go to the ceremony.

"Everybody wears ties and tuxes. It looks like the Oscars. It's going to be fun," Bausch said.

Peace is Bausch's eleventh novel, and he does not have plans to stop writing. Bausch said his goal as a writer is to be involving and truthful.

"You can't cheat the story," Bausch said. "Write a good book and make it work on various levels. Be as clear as you can be. The rest takes care of itself."

Bausch's works have been published in magazines such as The New Yorker, Esquire, GQ, and even Playboy.

"Playboy publishes first class writers," Bausch said. "And it gives me a reason to keep it in the house."

Bausch had simple advice to offer for aspiring writers.

"Don't read how-to books. I have never read a how-to book. Read the writers. Try to absorb six good writers per year. You have to read a lot, and you have to write a lot," Bausch said.

Bausch has also won awards such as a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, a Guggenheim fellowship, the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers Award and the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

These awards, along with the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, shed positive light not only on Bausch, but also on the English department at The U of M.

MFA candidate and fiction writer Jennifer Weber said it was an honor to have Bausch in the MFA program.

"Several professors have won awards here, but this is a real big one," Weber said. "An award like this elevates attention to our program."

Weber, currently in her third workshop with Bausch, said that he is one of the reasons she has a concentration in fiction.

"He encourages you as a writer, not by just looking at your work, but by looking at how you work when you write."

Weber said that taking a class with Bausch was not quite like taking any other class.

While walking into class with a friend Weber said, "Get ready for the hymns. It's time for church. It's like a religious experience."

MFA student Andrew Sall said the award lends credibility to the MFA program.

"Bausch is a real asset to our program," Sall said. "Because of professors like Bausch, students can find inspiration to write, publish and succeed."

Eric Link, chair of the English department, said Bausch's award shows The U of M has a really good faculty.

"Our university attracts well qualified scholars," Link said. "The award is certainly a big deal. It is clearly one of the greatest achievements of one of our fiction writers."