HARROGATE — Silas House, an accomplished author from Laurel County and former writer-in-residence at Lincoln Memorial University (LMU), visited campus on Oct. 5 for a book reading and signing with the LMU community at the Arnold Auditorium in the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum.
House’s visit was the culmination of a campus-wide common reading approach to learning in support of our Honors Scholars program. All the honors students and many faculty across campus have read his novel, “Eli the Good,” over the summer and early fall. In the novel, a 10-year-old boy shares the story of his family in the summer of 1976, after the Vietnam War. As the young character narrates the novel, he highlights events about his father who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after serving in the United States military, his family life in Appalachia, what it means to be patriotic, and growing into his own person.
“It’s about learning what your values and beliefs are and really discovering who you are. I think college students can relate to that,” House said.
As a former LMU employee and faculty member, House expressed how nice it was to be back on campus and reflected on his time as a professor.
“I had some of the best writing students of my career at LMU. Many of them grew up in a story-telling culture and became good at it,” he said.
House read a few passages from the novel and revealed experiences in the read from his childhood. House answered questions about the background on the story as well as his personal remedies and routines when writing. He encouraged writers of all ages to keep writing and find what works best for them in order to accomplish goals.
House’s success as a writer is recognized beyond rural Appalachia. His very first novel, “Clay’s Quilts,” was published in 2001 and made the New York Times Best Seller List. The novel also found its way as a finalist for both the Appalachian Writer’s Association Book of the Year Award and Southeast Booksellers’ Association fiction award. Other works include “A Parchment of Leaves,” “The Coal Tattoo,” “The Hurting Part” (play and published play script), “Something’s Rising,” “Long Time Travelling” (play), “This is my Heart for You” (play), and “Same Sun Here.”
House served LMU for five years as a writer-in-residence, literature professor, and director of the Mountain Heritage Literacy Festival. Today he teaches creative writing and literature at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, and continues to write. He is currently working on three plays and a couple of books.
