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By James Gardner

Clark County Public Library

If there was one writer who got me into reading, that writer is Stephen King. He is, of course, a talented writer, and his writing is also readily accessible. By that, I mean his books were in a classroom where I had study hall. However, if there were a writer that got me to look beyond Stephen King, to see what a story was capable of truly, that writer would be Joyce Carol Oates.

Oates, who also celebrates a birthday this week, has won many awards for her fiction and has written several novels, fiction collections, plays and criticisms. She also managed to help progress the development of me as a writer. A less-prestigious honor is helping yours truly on his writing journey.

I first became acquainted with Oates in high school. Our class read her well-canonized short story “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” (this story, incidentally, can be found in the library in the collection “High Lonesome: New & Selected Stories 1966-2006”, call number F Oates. For those unfamiliar, it’s about a teenage girl named Connie who is alone at her house when she is visited by Arnold Friend, a mysterious stranger who insists that Connie goes on a ride with him. Connie soon becomes suspicious of Arnold and soon becomes terrified of him. As the story progresses, the readers learn more about the two characters, with Connie becoming more sympathetic as her terror grows while Arnold becomes downright diabolical.

I later read more of Oates’s works, like her novels “We Were the Mulvaneys” (F Oate) or fiction collections like “The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares” (F Oates), and I still respect Oates for how she creates slow-burn tension within a scene that either snaps like a rubber band or leaves my skin crawling. Oates’s stories also reminded me that there are many writers I can learn from, and working in the library has taught me we have many stories that can teach, that can terrify, or that can tickle our funny bones (a happy story, I mean). The library is the place to be whether you create stories or just enjoy them.

Check out these programs that feature stories and an opportunity to create!

Upcoming events

• On Tuesday, June 13, at 6 p.m., Ron Kibbey’s Comedy Classics features Private Stan Laurel, who is found walking the trenches 20 years after the end of World War I (nobody told him the war was over). Old pal Oliver Hardy reads about Stan in the papers and visits him at the Old Soldier’s Home. Thinking Stan is an amputee, Ollie invites Stan home for a steak dinner. Nothing goes as planned! Popcorn and drinks will be provided.

• On Wednesday, June 14, at 2 p.m., the Kentucky Picture show takes you to 1934. Miranda Green and five other strangers are invited to the remote island mansion of billionaire Lewis Findley. As the weekend progresses, the clues about why they have been invited begin to unfold along with a sinister mystery. Popcorn and drinks will be provided.

• On Thursday, June 15, at 6 p.m., the library’s Blackout Poetry program allows its patrons to create blackout poetry, a unique form of poetry that uses other peoples’ words. All you need is a marker and a page from a book (both will be provided the night of the program). By coloring over unwanted sections, the remaining words evolve into a personalized work of prose. Attend in person the night of the program or pick up your book pages in the front lobby and return to the reference desk by July 15. Finished poems will be displayed in the library at a later date.

• For those who’d like to be part of the Friends of the Library, there will be a meeting on June 26 at 6:30 p.m. in the Brooks Community Room. The Friends of the Library had been an integral part of the library until about 2013. Most of the emphasis was on raising funds for the summer reading programs and activities for young readers. The meeting on June 26 is to see if there are people in the community who would be interested in revitalizing the group again.